Warriors: The Last Hour
by Snowcloud04
Summary: Brightheart is a ThunderClan-born ShadowClan warrior who was taken from her home at a young age. As a warrior, Brightheart receives an omen from StarClan that a strange cat will bring dark times upon the Clans around the lake, and that she is the only cat who can save them. Who is this strange cat, and will Brightheart be able to save the Clans before total anarchy breaks out? Pd04
1. Prologue

_**ALLEGIANCES**_

 **SHADOWCLAN**

LEADER **WOLFSTAR** -pretty gray she-cat with silver paws and underbelly

DEPUTY **CEDARFANG** -big orange-brown tom with deep brown eyes

MEDICINE CAT **MISTFEATHER** -light gray she-cat with dark gray paws, blue eyes

WARRIORS _(toms and she-cats without kits_ )

 **DARKCLAW** -big dark brown almost black tom

 **BLACKFUR** -black she-cat with flecks of white

 **APPRENTICE, THORNPAW**

 **TOADFOOT** -pale gray tom with black stripes

 **NIGHTWHISKER** -black and white she-cat

 **AMBERLEAF** -tan she-cat with dark brown muzzle and tail

 **TIGERSTRIPE** -orange, gray and white tom

 **DAWNWHISKER** -pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

 **IVYPELT** -ginger she-cat with bright green eyes

 **ROWANWING** -big red-brown tom with yellow eyes

 **LILYRAIN** -small, pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with misty green eyes

 **SMOKEFUR** -dark gray tom with a scar across his eye

 **APPRENTICE, FLAMEPAW**

 **RUSSETBLAZE** -red-brown she-cat

 **LIZARDSPECK** -dark brown tom with black spots

 **SHADEBELLY** -gray she-cat with dark gray underbelly

APPRENTICES _(more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)_

 **FLAMEPAW** -ginger she-cat with black and dark brown spots, midnight blue eyes

 **THORNPAW** -long-haired brown tabby tom

QUEENS _(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)_

 **SILVERFANG** -beautiful pale gray

 **BRIGHTHEART** -pretty brown and tan with blue eyes

ELDERS _(former warriors and queens, now retired)_

 **OWLCLAW** -sleek brown tom

 **NEWTBERRY** -deaf pale ginger tom

 **BLUEFLOWER** -blue-grey she-cat, half blind

 **THUNDERCLAN**

LEADER **STORMSTAR** -dark gray tom with black stripes like lightning bolts

DEPUTY **SNOWFEATHER** -small white she-cat with amber eyes

MEDICINE CAT **FROSTCLAW** -silver tom with ice blue eyes

WARRIORS _(toms and she-cats without kits)_

 **DAWNPELT** -silver she-cat with light blue eyes

 **APPRENTICE, SEDGEPAW**

 **BROKENTAIL** -small gray tom with a half tail

 **LEAFRIVER** -sleek gray and silver she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, GRAYPAW**

 **RAVENTAIL** -big black tom with a fluffy tail

 **TORNFUR** -pale ginger tom with a torn ear

 **LIONHEART** -ginger tom with large paws

 **PINEWHISPER** -tortoiseshell she-cat with gray eyes

 **REDFUR** -ginger tom with brown tail tip

 **FOXTAIL** -orange and white she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, BRACKENPAW**

 **BIRCHWOOD** -light brown tom with green eyes

 **POPPYLEAF** -pale tortoiseshell she-cat with light orange ear tips

 **MINTBREEZE** -small silver she-cat with dark gray ears and paws

 **JAYFLIGHT** -orange tom with dark brown paws

 **FERNBROOK** -brown and black she-cat

APPRENTICES _(more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)_

 **GRAYPAW** -pale gray tabby tom

 **BRACKENPAW** -dark ginger tom

 **SEDGEPAW** -sleek sorrel she-cat

QUEENS _(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)_

 **SORRELPELT** -pretty sorrel with white front paws

 **PETALFOOT** -pale ginger with amber eyes

 **CINDERTAIL** -gray tabby

ELDERS _(former warriors and queens, now retired)_

 **ASHGAZE** -gray and silver she-cat, blind in one eye

 **HAWKEYE** -big brown tom with very strong eyesight

 **WINDCLAN**

LEADER **EMBERSTAR** -small light gray tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

DEPUTY **BREEZEFUR** -ginger tom with white underbelly and paws

MEDICINE CAT **RABBITLEAP** -white tom with black paws, tail tip, and right eye

 **APPRENTICE, FLOWERPAW**

WARRIORS _(toms and she-cats without kits)_

 **MUDPELT** -dark brown tabby tom

 **FROSTHEART** -white she-cat with ginger splotches

 **HONEYFUR** -slim sorrel she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, GRASSPAW**

 **ROSEPOOL** -pale orange she-cat with golden eyes

 **SWIFTWING** -small tabby tom

 **CLOUDTAIL** -fluffy white tom with light green eyes

 **APPRENTICE, SCARPAW**

 **BRAMBLEBERRY** -pretty ginger she-cat with blue eyes

 **SKYLIGHT** -silver and white she-cat

 **CROWPELT** -solid black tom with a torn ear

 **APPRENTICE, HAREPAW**

 **DUSKTAIL** -gray tom with white paws and tail tip

 **DOVESTREAM** -pure white she-cat

 **DEERSTEP** -dappled tan she-cat

 **KESTRELWING** -light brown tabby tom

APPRENTICES _(more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)_

 **SCARPAW** -brown tom with a big scar down the side of his face

 **GRASSPAW** -short-haired dusky brown she-cat

 **FLOWERPAW** -sorrel and white she-cat

 **HAREPAW** -small tan and white tom

QUEENS _(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)_

 **LARKSONG** -beautiful dappled tan with ice blue eyes

 **SEEDWHISKER** -sorrel with white underbelly and paws

ELDERS _(former warriors and queens, now retired)_

 **HALFTAIL** -tan tom with most of his tail missing

 **DAPPLEPELT** -once pretty she-cat with scars all across her muzzle

 **RIVERCLAN**

LEADER **RIPPLESTAR** -big blue-gray tom with amber eyes

 **APPRENTICE, SNOWPAW**

DEPUTY **FROGSPLASH** -tortoiseshell tom

MEDICINE CAT **TROUTWING** -silver and black she-cat with amber eyes

WARRIORS _(toms and she-cats without kits)_

 **RUNNINGWAVE** -small dusky brown tom

 **APPRENTICE, FOAMPAW**

 **STILLPOOL** -sleek white and silver she-cat

 **SHELLSHIMMER** -light tan she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, SANDPAW**

 **OAKFUR** -ginger and brown tom

 **PEBBLEFOOT** -silver she-cat with white hind paws

 **FISHEYE** -slim gray tom with blue eyes

 **REEDWHISKER** -brown tom with black muzzle and tail tip, green eyes

 **SNAKETAIL** -dappled gray tom with a long tail

 **WAVEHEART** -tortoiseshell she-cat with golden eyes

 **ICEFOOT** -silver and white tom

 **WEBEAR** -black tom with white ears

 **WATERCRYSTAL** -beautiful pale blue-gray she-cat with white paws

 **SPOTTEDFIN** -dappled brown she-cat

APPRENTICES _(more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)_

 **SNOWPAW** -white she-cat with a silver muzzle and bright blue eyes

 **FOAMPAW** -sleek silver she-cat with white spots

 **SANDPAW** -ginger tabby tom with white paws and brown eyes

QUEENS _(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)_

 **SPLASHFUR** -pretty silver dappled with white paws

 **DAISYTAIL** -white with yellow-green eyes

ELDERS _(former warriors and queens, now retired)_

 **FOGTAIL** -blind tabby tom

 **SCRATCHFUR** -brown tom with rough fur

 **LAKEWOOD** -gray-blue she-cat

* * *

 _ **Prologue**_

A soft wind blew threw the trees, rustling the leaves in the quiet night, causing the rain water to shower down to the forest floor. The bright moon reflected off the wet leaves as cats quietly made their way through the night.

"The ThunderClan camp is just up ahead," a black tom reported. The leader of the cats stepped forward to look down the small slope leading to the ThunderClan camp. The leader turned to his followers and let out a low growl.

"Are you all ready?" the leader asked in a hushed tone. His followers responded in growls and hisses. With a flick of his tail, the leader sent all his followers charging down the slope towards the camp. Yowls erupted from the camp as the intruders attacked any ThunderClan cat they saw.

"Rogues! Protect the kits!" The ThunderClan leader called out. The leader of the rogues, followed by some of his own, ran towards the nursery. A small queen and two warriors were in the far corner of the nursery, protecting two newborn kits. The queen let out a growl as the rogues attacked the two warriors. The rogues quickly overwhelmed the warriors and killed them both.

"Firestorm!" The queen meowed in fear as her mate stopped breathing. The queen looked back at the rogues, pulled her kits closer to her, and hissed.

"Get the kits," the rogue leader demanded. The four rogues that were standing behind him pounced at the small queen. The queen snarled and attacked the rogues, but as she tried to keep them away from her kits, two of them managed to snatch both kits from her. She hissed as she leaped at the closest rogue that was holding a small bundle of tan fur in his mouth. Before she reached the first rogue, another rogue tackled her to the ground, clawing at her. She threw the rogue off of her and tried again to reach her kits, yet again unsuccessful as she was tackled once more by a different rogue. The rogue fought the struggling queen until he was able to dig his claws into the flesh of the young queen's neck. The queen dropped to the ground gasping for air until she lay there, unmoving on the nursery floor. The leader walked out of the nursery to see the warriors and rogues, still battling for their lives.

"Retreat!" the rogue leader ordered. The rogues obeyed their leader, following him out of the camp. They sprinted through the woods until the leader stopped to catch his breath. The two rogues beside him stopped as well, putting the kits they had been carrying down on the muddy forest floor.

A sudden yowl was heard from overhead as cats came racing down the slope to the rogues left. "ShadowClan! They are back from the Gathering!" a small rogue growled. The ShadowClan cats quickly overran the rogues, forcing them to flee, and leaving the two small kits whimpering and shivering on the forest floor. A black and white she-cat walked up to the two kits, cautiously.

"Wolfstar! These kits smell of ThunderClan!" the she-cat meowed to her leader. Wolfstar walked over to her to see the state the kits were in.

"We need to get these kits somewhere safe. Our camp is much closer. Darkclaw! Come help Nightwhisker carry these kits back to camp!" The dark brown warrior obeyed his leader and carefully picked up one of the kits, Nightwhisker doing the same with the second kit. They walked quickly back to the camp, carrying the little bundles straight to the medicine cat den where Mapletail was sorting herbs.

"Mapletail!" The medicine cat turned towards the incoming cats. "We fought off a group of rogues on our territory and they had these kits with them," Nightwhisker reported to the old medicine cat. Her apprentice, Mistpaw, came and sniffed one of the kits.

"Mapletail, these kits are ThunderClan!" The apprentice meowed in surprise. Mapletail flicked her tail as in to say come over.

"Lay the kits right here," she pointed to a small nest beside her. The warriors obeyed and laid the kits carefully down in the small bed of moss. "Nightwhisker, go fetch Lilyrain, please." The warrior nodded to the old medicine cat and left the den to go retrieve the queen. A small tortoiseshell she-cat entered the den moments later.

"Mapletail, you wanted me?" The queen asked. Mapletail nodded. She stepped away from the kits so Lilyrain could see them.

"These kits were found with a band of rogues on our territory. Could you handle two more kits?" Mapletail asked. Lilyrain smiled.

"Of course." She walked over to the kits and curled up around them. "Can I name them?" She asked. The medicine cat nodded. She looked back the small kits and smiled. "You can be Amberkit," she said to the tan kit. "And you," She looked at the brown tan kit, "You can be Brightkit."

* * *

 **Pinedust- Thank you for getting this far! Chapter 1 should be up in the next ten minutes.**

 **Snowcloud- More like 20 seeing as we are doing this on a laptop with no mouse.**

 **Pinedust- Shut up, Snowcloud! Stop ta-**

 **Snowcloud- I SPEAK TRUTH!**

 **Pinedust- Great StarClan…**

 **Snowcloud- Why are you always so mousebrained?!**

 **Pinedust- Look who's talking, Fluffbrain!**

 **Snowcloud- Who are you calling Fluffbrain? You birdbrain!**

 **Foxmoon *walks in, furious* WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!?**

 **Snowcloud &Pinedust- *in unison* STAY OUT OF THIS!**

 **Foxmoon- You are BOTH mouse, fluff, AND birdbrained! *stalks out***

 **Pinedust- Well, I'm gonna end this right here before I have to claw Snowcloud's ears off!**

 **Snowcloud- Or I rip you to shreds!**

 **Foxmoon- *from where ever she is* Don't make me tell Firestar about this! I know he will personally come down here from StarClan and rip you both to shreds!**

 **Pinedust *starting to panic* ah, ok, that's all for now! Pinedust out!**

 **Snowcloud- What abou- *screen goes dark***


	2. Chapter 1

It's a chilly leaf fall night. The wind whistles gently through the trees of the forest surrounding our camp. The sky is clear as I walk through camp. I can hear the sound of paws crunching on the leaves of the forest floor as cats all around camp prepare to head off to the Gathering. The sound of running paw steps causes me to turn my head to the incoming cat.

"Brightheart come on! I don't want to be late to my first Gathering!" The excited voice of my apprentice, Thornpaw, rings through the quiet night air.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I meow in an exasperated tone. Thornpaw takes off through the camp at full speed to catch up with his sister, Flamepaw. "That furbrain's gonna end up hurting someone if he keeps tearing around camp like that," I mutter under my breath.

"Looks like you've got your paws full with that one." I whip my head around to see who had spoken. I am greeted by a familiar face.

"Oh, it's only you, Rowanwing," I sigh. "Yeah, he's quite the pawful," I mew with relief.

"Why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?" he asks, tilting his head slightly.

"It's, uh, it's nothing," I meow quickly, wanting to change the subject.

"Ok, if you say so. If you want to talk though I'm here."

"Thanks. How was hunting?"

"Pretty good. Food's getting scarcer though as leaf bare approaches." I nod in agreement.

"I noticed. The food pile looked..."

"Can you two young'uns get a move on?" I jump as an exasperated voice from behind us interrupts me. "You're walking slower than a snail!"

"Sorry Owlclaw!" I mew in surprise as Owlclaw stalks past us, muttering something under his breath. Once he's past, I continue to Rowanwing, "The food pile looked smaller today."

He sighs. "Cedarfang is going to have to start sending out more patrols so we can stock up before it gets too cold. Thank StarClan we know how to keep the food fresh under snow."

Once Rowanwing finishes his sentence, I realize we have already reached the treebridge to the island. RiverClan is ahead of us crossing the treebridge.

Once the last RiverClan cat crosses the bridge ShadowClan begin to file on one by one. In his excitement, Thornpaw charges onto the branch, nearly falling into the water. He yelps as he regains his footing on the slippery branch and continues on with caution. I hear some of the warriors around me purring in amusement.

When it is my turn, I gracefully leap onto the dead tree, careful not to slip, and make my way down to the island on the other side, where I am greeted by a reenergized Thornpaw.

"Hey Brightheart! Race you to the clearing!" he meows as he takes off again. Hoping to tire him, I race after him at full speed and quickly catch up. It doesn't take long for me to pass him. "Not fair!" he meows as I fly by him. When we reach the clearing, we both stop, panting. "Not...fair." he says through pants.

"What? Thought I'd let you win?" I say in amusement.

"Well...kinda," he meows, still panting. "I thought maybe you would because of how much smaller I am than you."

"Well, would that be the case in a battle? 'Oh, you're small than me, so I'll go easy on you and let you win'?"

"No, but..." I cut him off.

"No buts! You need to learn to work for your wins and accept your losses. No warrior is going to go easy on you just because you are smaller than them."

"Ok," he mews, discouraged.

"A good warrior works hard and puts all his strength into a battle. If you can do these things, you will be a fine warrior."

"Ok! I'll work as hard as I can and be the best warrior ever!" This is the last thing either of us say before the Gathering starts. WindClan is the first to share their news, saying they have new kits and are well prepared for leaf bare. I tune out most of RiverClan and ThunderClan, who don't have much to say anyways, and wait for ShadowClan's announcements. When Wolfstar announces the new apprentices, I, along with the rest of ShadowClan, cheer loudly. I can see my apprentice, bursting with excitement, sitting over with the other apprentices from the different clans.

When the Gathering is over, I wander around a bit to find Rowanwing and talk to him, but am cut short when I hear a cat calling my name from some nearby bushes. I walk over to investigate, only to find Raventail of ThunderClan waiting for me. "What do you want now, Raventail?" I meow in an annoyed tone.

"I still think you should come back home, to ThunderClan, where you belong," he says stubbornly.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not going back to ThunderClan? I have been raised in ShadowClan. It is my home and it's where I'd like to stay," I shoot back.

"You'd have a warm wel…"

"I am not leaving ShadowClan! I am not gonna betray my clan just because some crazy old cat thinks I belong in ThunderClan!" I stalk off, not wanting to hear anymore of his argument, and run into Rowanwing.

"Great StarClan!" I meow to him.

"What's wrong?"

"That crazy mousebrain Raventail was pestering me about going back to ThunderClan and insisting it's where I 'belong'!" I exclaim, furious.

"Relax, Brightheart. You were raised with us, and you are a great warrior of ShadowClan," he meows, trying to calm me down. He headbutts me in my shoulder and takes off into the woods. I'm hot on his tail, purring with joy as we tear through the forest. Rowanwing turns his head to look at me, an affectionate look in his eyes, and for a moment I feel like we're the only cats in the world.

* * *

Everyone's asleep when we get back to camp. We quietly head over to the warriors den and enter, careful not to rustle the branches too much. Treading softly over the sleeping cats, we make our way to the back of the den where our nests sit side by side. I lay down first, my paws aching from running so much, and almost instantly fall asleep.

I awake outside of camp in the clearing where we do battle training, the sun shining brightly overhead. "Hello?" I mew. No response. I start to walk away, but just as I turn the sun disappears and the wind picks up, whistling loudly through the trees. Leaves are spinning everywhere, hitting me in the face causing me to shake my head, and I hear a voice say,

"Beware of the cat with leaves on her back," and just like that it's all over. I awake with a start to someone shaking my side, and look up to see Rowanwing, Amberleaf, and Dawnwhisker standing over me. "What...what happened?" I meow, dazed. Amberleaf answers first;

"You were shaking violently in your sleep. You woke up most of the den! Are you ok?"

Rowanwing interjects before I can answer her question. "Brightheart, what's wrong? I woke up and you were shaking and whimpering."

"I'm fine, honest. It was just a bad dream."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," I reassure him.

Dawnwhisker speaks this time. "Maybe you should see if Mistfeather could give you something to help you sleep better."

"Maybe," I mew, calmer now and no longer shaking. I get up and walk towards the entrance to the den. The three of them follow me out into the sunlight. I stop and squint, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the bright light of the morning sun before moving on.

The first place I go is to the food pile, where I pick out a nice lizard and carry it over to the spot where Rowanwing and I usually eat. He is waiting there for me with two big, fat voles in his mouth, which he drops as he sees me coming. "Oh, uh, I thought I'd get your food for you, but I see you already have something," he mews.

I can sense the disappointment in his tone, so I drop my lizard and quickly say "No, it's fine. We can just share this. It's really too small anyways. Thank you."

"Sure," he says as he lays down to start eating. I lay down too and take a big, juicy bite out of my vole. The warm juices seep into my mouth, and I close my eyes to savor the delicious taste.

It doesn't take me long to finish the vole and my half of the lizard, so I'm finished by the time Cedarfang starts assigning patrols.

"Ivypelt, Nightwhisker, and Toadfoot, I want you three to patrol the ThunderClan border. Brightheart, Thornpaw, Lizardspeck, and Tigerstripe, you take the border with RiverClan. Smokefur, Flamepaw and I will go hunting," he orders. I lead my patrol out of the camp and to the small thunderpath that borders RiverClan.

* * *

I can't seem to shake last night's dream out of my head, and eventually decide to consult Mistfeather to see if she can help me figure out what it means.

"I'm as lost as you are as to what this means," the she-cat meows.

"But, why did StarClan tell it to me? I'm not a leader or a medicine cat," I say, confused.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but I'm sure there is a reason why you received it and not Wolfstar or I."

"Am I allowed to tell Rowanwing about it? He's been worried about me since he woke me this morning."

"I'm sorry, but you cannot share this with anyone other than me or Wolfstar. We don't need you spreading fear across the camp."

"Ok," I say, and walk out of the medicine den.

Thornpaw is there waiting for me when I get out. "Brightheart, can we go do battle training? I need to practice to be the best warrior ever!" he meows excitedly.

"Sure! Let's see if Smokefur and Flamepaw want to join us," I meow back, refreshed by his enthusiasm. He runs over to where his sister is laying on her side soaking in the warm sun. I watch him pounce her as I trot over to Smokefur, who is sitting by the entrance talking to some of the other warriors. Before I can ask him if he wants to take Flamepaw out for battle training with Thornpaw and I, the two of them come racing over at full speed and almost plow into him.

"Watch it!" he growls in surprise. This makes the two of them hesitate for a minute.

"Sorry Smokefur!" they mew in unison.

"We were wondering if we could do battle training," Flamepaw mews hesitantly.

"Brightheart said we could go!" Thornpaw chimes in.

Smokefur looks like he's about to say no, so I chime in and say, "I'm fine with taking them both if you don't want to come. I've handled two apprentices before."

"If Brightheart wants to take you two that's fine, but I'm starting to get too old for battle training," he rasps.

"Ok!" they both say, and take off through the entrance.

"Those two really need to learn to stop racing everywhere," Smokefur says in annoyance. I nod my head, agreeing with him, and trot through the entrance after them before they can get too far.

"Get back here you two!" I meow to them. They quickly obey and come trotting over to me. "You two can't keep racing off everywhere. I know you're excited, but you're going to end up getting hurt or hurting someone else," I say when they reach me.

"Ok, we'll stop," says Thornpaw. We continue the walk to the clearing in silence. I can sense that they are trying their best to behave and not take off again, so when we're only a few tail lengths off from the clearing I let them race out into it. "I win!" Thornpaw boasts to his sister. He puffs out his chest as he and Flamepaw prance over to me to start training.

"The first move I'm going to teach you two is the front paw blow. The key to this is to try to hit your opponent's head as hard as you can, but since this is only your first time training we'll start softer." I demonstrate this move to them and watch them as they try to imitate what I've done.

"Ow!" Flamepaw exclaims as the first blow hits her. "You clawed me!"

"Thornpaw! Keep your claws sheathed! This is meant to knock your opponent down, not claw their fur off!" I instruct him.

"Ok," he meows just before he receives a blow to the head. This catches him off guard, and he sways a little.

"Nice job!" I congratulate Flamepaw. Now she's the one puffing out her chest. I let them practice this move a little longer before I say to them, "Ok, you guys seem to have that one down pretty well. Now I'm gonna teach you how to duck and twist. This is a simple but effective defensive move if your opponent is coming at you with a blow. What you want to do is duck and then twist around, rolling onto your back and then immediately standing up again. Thornpaw, come at me with the blow I just taught you so I can demonstrate." He quickly obeys and goes to land a hard blow to my head, but before he makes contact I duck, twist, and roll quickly away from him, causing him to miss and lose his balance.

"Woah! That's cool!" he exclaims. "Can I try?"

"Sure! You and Flamepaw can take turns blowing and ducking," I meow back to him.

We stay in the clearing for quite awhile, me telling them ways to make their moves better and them practicing these things, until finally they decide that they're tired and want to head back to camp. "You two did good today. I'm proud of you," I say as we walk back to camp.

"Thanks!" they say proudly, and I can tell by their tone of voice that they are happy I approved of their work.

The sun has almost set by the time we get back to camp. The two of them head over to the food pile to pick out something to eat while I go over to the place where Rowanwing is waiting for me with a giant toad in his mouth. "I think it's big enough to share," he mutters around the prey in his mouth. I can just barely make out what he said, and as if reading my mind he drops the toad and repeats himself; "I think it's big enough for us to share."

"I think so too," I meow in agreement as I lay down next to him to eat.

* * *

 **Pinedust- HOLY CRAP! IT'S CHAPTER 1!**

 **Snowcloud- Damn, miss Fuzzbrain over here actually made it to chapter 1!**

 **Pinedust- Does that really surprise you?**

 **Snowcloud- To be truthful, yes.**

 **Pinedust- Well, it's good to know how much faith you have in me…**

 **Snowcloud- Faith ain't got nothin' to do with it, Fuzzbrain.**

 **Pinedust- Are we really gonna start this again? *rolls eyes***

 **Snowcloud- No, because I don't feel like feeling the wrath of Firestar…**

 **Foxmoom- *from somewhere else* WISE CHOICE!**

 **Snowcloud- *sarcastically* Why, thank you!**

 **Pinedust- Oh, no… Snowcloud's getting sarcastic. EVERYBODY RUN!**

 **Snowcloud- I hate you…**

 **Pinedust- Love you too. *sticks tongue out***

 **Snowcloud- *glares***

 **Pinedust- I'm gonna go ahead and end this. Pi-**

 **Snowcloud- *interrupts* SNOWCLOUD OUT!**

 **Pinedust- That's my line!**


	3. Chapter 2

I slept soundly last night. No omen this time. I'm grateful for this as I stretch and make my way out of the warriors den. However my good mood drains when Wolfstar beckons me over to her den. "Mistfeather told me you received an omen a couple nights ago. Tell me about it," she says once we're in the privacy of her den. I proceed to tell her about the sun disappearing from the sky above the clearing and the sudden wind that blew leaves all around me. I tell her about the voice I heard, telling me the omen. By the time I am done, Wolfstar has a very troubled look on her face. "We'll have to keep an eye out for this cat amongst the other clans, and even among our own kits when new ones are born. We must figure out who this cat is so we know what we're dealing with," she says in a very distraught tone. She quickly changes the subject though; "Speaking of kits, have you told Rowanwing yet?" she asks me, her tone lighter now.

"Not yet. I'm still trying to figure out how," I reply.

"It isn't too difficult. I remember telling my mate the first time I was expecting kits. I thought for days how to tell him, until one day I just decided it was easier to just...tell him, instead of figuring out a certain way how."

"What was your mate's name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't mind at all. His name was Spidertooth. He died of a bad wound infection two moons after I became leader."

"I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm sure he was a great warrior."

"Yes, he was a very fine warrior. He almost became my deputy."

"How many kits did you guys have? I know Owlclaw and Newtberry are your sons, but did you have others?"

"Well, Newtberry had a sister who was stillborn, we named her Ashkit despite that, and then Owlclaw was an only kit. I had only them before I became deputy."

"Oh, wow, that's horrible. I'm so sorry."

"Thank you. Now, I think you should go find Rowanwing and tell him your good news."

"Ok!" I say as a prance out of her den.

I find Rowanwing still asleep in the warriors den, so I gently shake him awake. "Sleeping in, I see," I tease him once he's awake.

"What do you want?" he says in mock irritation, but the soft look on his face tells me he's only teasing back.

"Well, you asked me the other day why I was so jumpy and said if I decide to talk to you about it you'll listen. I've decided to talk, so you listen; I'm expecting your kits."

"That's wonderful! How far along are you?"

"Only a couple of days."

"Well then, we must spread the news!" he says excitedly as he rushes out of the warriors den, reminding me of a kit about to become an apprentice.

* * *

By the end of the day, the whole camp knows I'm expecting kits. Amberleaf, who's almost as excited as Rowanwing and I are, has already congratulated me multiple times. Everywhere one of us goes in camp, there is at least one cat congratulating us and asking if we've picked any names yet. I feel bad when Thornpaw comes over with a sullen look on his face. "Does this mean I can't be an apprentice anymore?" he mews in a sad voice.

"Nonsense! I just can't train you anymore. Wolfstar will assign a new mentor to you," I say to him. This brightens him a little bit, but I can still tell something is wrong. "What is it?" I ask.

"I just…I don't want a different mentor. I want you to teach me!"

"I know, little one, but I can't. I promise I'll watch your final assessment though," I meow encouragingly. "In the meantime, you still have a long ways to go until that time, so I want you to be good for your new mentor and continue to work hard."

"Ok!" he says, and takes off to go find his sister. Suddenly he halts a few tail lengths away though and turns to run back to me. "Congratulations, by the way!" he says and then takes off again.

* * *

Wolfstar has just climbed onto the Clanrock for a clan meeting to announce Thornpaw's new mentor. I can see some of the younger warriors buzzing with excitement, hoping they'll be the ones chosen to continue his training. Wolfstar's voice rings out across the camp as she calls us together for the meeting. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Clanrock for a meeting!" We all gather around the giant rock like she said. Once we've all gathered, she announces "As you all know, Brightheart is currently expecting Rowanwing's kits." I look over see Rowanwing glowing with pride next to me. "As you also know, she is currently the mentor to Thornpaw. Now, she cannot be in the nursery and mentor an apprentice at the same time, so Thornpaw must be given a new mentor. Thornpaw, please step forward." He obeys and steps forward with a nervous look on his face. "Your new mentor will be Blackfur. I hope she will pass down all she knows onto you. Blackfur, please come forward." The she-cat walks over to where her new apprentice is. At this point he is almost bouncing with excitement. "Blackfur, you are ready to take on your first apprentice. You have received excellent training from Nightwhisker, and you have proven yourself to be loyal and brave during battle. You will be the new mentor of Thornpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." Blackfur and Thornpaw touch noses, and the meeting ends. We all scatter to continue what we were doing before the meeting. Rowanwing and I walk off in awkward silence, unsure of what to do since we weren't doing much before the clan meeting.

"Wanna go take a walk in the woods?" I suggest to him. "We haven't done that in awhile."

"Don't you need to rest though? I'm sure it must be tiring carrying kits in your belly."

"I'm fine. It's only been a few days since I found out."

"Ok, if you insist."

"Yes, I do insist. Now let's go!" I meow to him as I run through the entrance like a new apprentice. When I'm a few tail lengths from the end of the thorn tunnel that forms the entrance, I look back to see if Rowanwing is following, and to my surprise see him walking through the entrance. I slow down to a halt and turn back to him. "C'mon you slow poke!" I meow teasingly to him.

He trots a little to get next to me, then says "I really don't think you should be running right now, and plus you said we'd go for a _walk_ in the woods, not a _run_." I roll my eyes at him, but do as he pleases.

"You don't need to be so protective of me. I'm carrying kits; I'm not a fragile elder! Also, again, I'm only a few days in," I say to him, rather annoyed.

"Ok, I'll stop. I'm sorry," he meows, though I can tell he's not completely serious.

"I'll make a deal with you; if you stop being so protective, I'll start being more careful," I meow back. He seems satisfied with this, so we continue our walk.

We walk along in silence and with our tails entwined as we enjoy the crisp, cool air of a late leaf fall is a small breeze rustling the trees, but other than that it is completely quiet. The moon shines bright from the starry sky above our heads, illuminating our path and adding an eerie glow to the trees. An owl sounds overhead, breaking the silence. I jump, startled, and trip over a root. "Oof," I mew as I hit the ground.

"Brightheart! Are you ok?" Rowanwing's looking at me with a concerned look on his face.

"Yes, I'm fine. I can't say the same for this mouse though," I say as I stand up, revealing the mouse I fell on. Rowanwing chuckles in amusement.

"Nice catch," he says with a mischievous look on his face.

"Gee, thanks," I meow back to him. I pick up the mouse to carry back to camp.

* * *

"Thornpaw! Aim for where I'm going to be, not where I am now. Otherwise I'll already be somewhere else and I'll have the advantage!" Blackfur instructs and rolls her eyes as Thornpaw makes the same mistake once again. I woke up early this morning and have been sitting in the clearing watching how Thornpaw's training is going. I want so bad to go train him myself, but I know it's not possible carrying kits. Plus, Rowanwing would never let me. He's still being very protective of me, despite our deal. I had just barely convinced him to let me watch Thornpaw, and he absolutely refused to let me train him in any way shape or form. I'm rather surprised he didn't insist on coming with me to make sure I don't start training Thornpaw again.

Thornpaw looks over to me with frustration in his eyes. I can tell he's trying his best to please both me and Blackfur. I make eye contact with Blackfur and summon her over with my tail

"Just Blackfur," I say as Thornpaw tries to follow his mentor. He stops a few tail lengths away, still in earshot, but fine if we're quite. We turn our backs to him to make even harder for him to overhear us. "Try demonstrating the move on me. He works better if he's shown what to do," I meow to her in a hushed voice.

"But Rowanwing forbade you to train him," she says in protest.

"I won't be training him. You'll still be doing that part. I'm just going to be your demonstration. Also, Rowanwing never has to know about it."

"Ok," she mews reluctantly.

"Please. Just this once, for old times' sake?" We were apprentices together even though I'm three moons older than her."

"Ok fine. But I am to do the hard stuff; you just dodge and move around."

"Deal," I say as we turn back to face Thornpaw once more. "Blackfur and I are going to demonstrate for you, so pay close attention," I say to him. I get into a defensive stance. Blackfur mirrors me as we circle around for a bit, then she strikes out at me. I quickly dodge it, but she expected that and manages to land a decent blow to my head. I shake my head a bit and slash back at her, and get her hard on the side of the head. This shocks her and she stumbles back, stopping a few tail lengths away.

"You weren't supposed to do that! We agreed that I'd be the one striking while you dodge and move around!" the she-cat mews, irritated.

"Well it worked though, didn't it?" I say stubbornly.

"I think I got it now," Thornpaw interjects quickly before we start arguing.

"Ok, then try it on me again," Blackfur says and gives me an irritated look.

"Ok!" Thornpaw meows as he gets ready to strike. He misses, but immediately strikes again with his other and hits her on her shoulder, knocking her paws out from under her.

"Nice hit!" I say to him as Blackfur gets up.

"Let's call it a day and head back to camp," she says, and starts walking along the trail that leads to the camp. Thornpaw and I follow her.

"I wish you were my mentor still," he mutters to me.

"I know, but give Blackfur a break. You're her first apprentice, and I can tell that she's stressed about training you," I meow back to him, making sure Blackfur can't hear me.

"Ok," he says. We continue walking in silence until we reach the thorn tunnel and enter the camp. Rowanwing is waiting for me when I get inside.

"You demonstrated a move with Blackfur!?" he says, highly irritated. "I told you no training!"

"I wasn't training! Thornpaw was having a difficult time learning the move he was being taught, so Blackfur demonstrated it on me!" I shoot back defensively.

"That's not what she said! She said you slashed at her and got her on the side of the head! That doesn't sound like letting her demonstrate on you to me! That sounds like you were the one doing the demonstrating!" he says with a slight hiss.

"So I landed a single blow to her head! Big deal! To me all that matters it that Thornpaw got the move after that!"

"So you're saying our kits don't matter to you?!"

"I never said that now did I? I just said that it mattered that Thornpaw got the move!"

"You said that that was all that matters, so you might as well have said that!"

"Our kits do matter to me! Don't ever accuse me of not caring about our kits!" I growl, and stalk off towards the warriors den to cool down and get some sleep. I hear pawsteps behind me and look to see if he's following me, but it's Blackfur who's behind me. "You ratted me out!" I hiss at her.

"Brightheart, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start an argument between you two. I just thought he should know," she mews, clearly afraid of me. I am bigger than her and could easily fight with her if I wanted to, and win, so I can see how she is intimidated by me. However, I decide not to fight her and continue on to the warriors den. "Brightheart I'm sorry!" she calls out again, but I ignore her and enter the empty warriors den. I lay down in Amberleaf's nest, not wanting to lay next to Rowanwing's nest right now, and doze off. I wake up in a strange forest. _Oh no, is this another omen?_ I think to myself. I look around to see if there's anything familiar about this forest, and spot a beautiful silver and light-brown-speckled she-cat with brown paws, tail and ears standing a few tail lengths away in some brush. The she-cat notices I've seen her and steps forward, closing the gap between us until she's only about a single tail length away "Hello, Brightheart," she meows warmly.

"How do you know my name?" I ask her, a bit wary.

"I've been watching you grow up in ShadowClan from here in StarClan," she replies with a purr of amusement.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Cherrynose. I'm your mother." This renders me speechless. _Am I really in StarClan with my mother right now?_ I wonder to myself. I stare at her for a few minutes, awed by how incredibly beautiful she is. _She's beautiful. No wonder my father fell for her,_ I think, but I don't voice this. Her words repeat themselves over and over again in my mind, _I'm your mother._

"You're...you're my mother?" I finally manage to get out, still questioning whether this is all real.

"Yes."

"And I'm your father." A tom with a pelt the color of flames but spotted with black and an orange-brown color steps out from the brush. Again I am speechless. "My name is Firestorm," the tom meows.

"I know what you must be thinking; 'why am I just now meeting you?' I can explain," Cherrynose meows to me in a soothing tone. "We didn't want to hinder your loyalty to ShadowClan, but you have proven yourself to be a loyal ShadowClan warrior, despite your ThunderClan heritage."

"So what Lilyrain and Raventail say is true? I really am ThunderClan?"

"Yes. You and Amberleaf were taken by rogues only hours after you were born. That's how your father and I died. We thought they'd killed you too, until Icestar showed us you were still alive."

"Icestar? Who's Icestar?"

"An old leader of ThunderClan, well before Stormstar was even born."

"Why are you here though? And why am I in StarClan? Am I dead?" I meow, starting to panic a little.

"No, you are not dead. We are here to guide you," Firestorm meows.

"Guide me? With what? Is this about that dream I had?"

"Yes," he says. "It was an omen, as you already know, and we are here to guide you on how to protect the clans from this cat."

"But who is this cat? Is it someone we know?"

"No. This cat has not yet been born, but you need to prepare the clans for when she is born, for it has been foretold that when she is born, the ground will shake and clouds will cover the sun. Dark times will be upon the clans."

"But, why me? I'm not a leader, nor a medicine cat," I mew, a bit frightened now.

"This is true, but you are the cat StarClan has chosen," my mother speaks this time. "You are the only one who can save the clans from this cat."

* * *

 **Pinedust-** **Ha! Chapter 2! Guess who's off to a better start?**

 **Snowcloud- I'm taking my sweet time so my story is better. Whatcha got to say to that?**

 **Pinedust- Whatever. I still think mines better. Brightheart has kits for crying out loud!**

 **Snowcloud- Snowpaw is still an APPRENTICE!**

 **Pinedust- Ok fine, but that's not my fault. I decided to start my main character off as a warrior, you decided to start yours off as an apprentice, we have different writing styles. What's your point?**

 **Snowcloud- My point? My point is that we should probably stop fighting. We're suppose to be friends. We keep fighting. Why?**

 **Pinedust- I don't know, cuz it's fun and entertaining? You're right though, we should at least try to get along.**

 **Snowcloud- Yay!**

 **Foxmoon- *from where ever she is* IT'S ABOUT TIME!**

 **Pinedust- *whispers to Snowcloud* how does she keep doing that? And where the heck is she?**

 **Snowcloud- She is in the warriors den; she should be ON PATROL *yells to make sure Foxmoon hears***

 **Foxmoon- NOT TILL SUN-HIGH!**

 **Pinedust- How can she hear us from there? We're on the opposite side of camp!**

 **Snowcloud- She has super hearing, that's the only explanation.**

 **Pinedust- *sarcastically* no...really? I didn't notice. *seriously* it's kinda creepy though if you ask me.**

 **Snowcloud- Let's stop being mean to Foxmoon and wrap this up. Ok?**

 **Pinedust- Ok! See you next time! Pinedust out!**


	4. Chapter 3

Only two moons have passed since I first told Rowanwing I am expecting his kits, but it feels like it's been ages. I gave up my warrior duties and moved into the nursery about a moon and a half ago, and now here I am on my side on the nursery floor, heaving as I try to push out the first kit. Mistfeather is standing over me with her paw on my stomach. "Almost there," she mews in a soothing voice. Rowanwing and Amberleaf are standing outside the nursery entrance, making sure no one tries to enter, not even Silverfang and her kits. Every now and then one of them will pop their head in to see how I'm doing. Finally, the first kit comes all the way out. Mistfeather immediately starts licking it to get it to start breathing. "She's breathing," she says after a few heartbeats. I don't get much time to rest though before the next one comes, hitting me with the largest spasm yet. I cry out in pain, and Rowanwing is immediately by my side.

"You're doing great, just breathe," he meows to me in encouragement.

"Thanks," I gasp as another spasm hits me.

"The heads out. It's gonna be a big one," Mistfeather says. I moan at this, slightly annoyed. "Here's the shoulders. One good push and he's out," she says. "Rowanwing, come here and start licking the second one. I need to help Brightheart with the third one."

"Third…" I start to say, just as I am yet again hit by a spasm.

"This one's breathing too," I hear Rowanwing say.

"Good," I rasp as I work on pushing out the third kit. Amberleaf has come in now and is standing next to Rowanwing, who is laying with the first two kits.

"It's out!" says Amberleaf in excitement.

"Is...is that...it?" I say, still gasping for air.

"Yes. You did great, Brightheart. You've given birth to three healthy kits. Two tom-kits and a little she-kit," meows Mistfeather. I sigh in relief, grateful that it's all over.

"What should we name them?" I ask Rowanwing.

"I was thinking Adderkit for the brown tom-kit," he meows.

"Adderkit. I like that name," I say. I look at the big brown tom-kit. "Your name will be Adderkit."

"What about Thistlekit for the other tom-kit?" Amberleaf chimes in. I look at the little gray tom-kit.

"You can be Thistlekit," I mew softly to him. I look over to the silver she-kit. "And you, little one, will be named Cherrykit."

"Cherrykit? Wasn't your mother's name Cherrynose?" Mistfeather asks.

"Yes, and that is why I named my kit Cherrykit," I meow in reply.

"That's a very honourable thing to do for our mother," says Amberleaf. I told her a couple of moons ago about meeting our parents in a dream. Suddenly I remember what they said about the earth trembling and clouds covering the sun when this cat is born. _That hasn't happened, so she isn't one of my kits,_ I say to myself, grateful that she still has yet to be born _I feel bad for whoever her mother will be_.

It's not long before Adderkit, Thistlekit, and Cherrykit are mewling for milk. Rowanwing helps me guide them so they can suckle the milk. A sudden rustling at the entrance makes him quickly stand up, ready to protect me and the kits, but it's only Silverfang with her kits, Shrewkit and Dustkit. "Careful of the new kits," their mother instructs as they enter the den and head to their nest. "You kits are much bigger than them, and you can easily hurt them if you are not careful." Shrewkit and Dustkit were born four moons earlier, and are quite rambunctious.

"Yes, mother," they say, and carefully walk around us.

"When can we play with them?" Shrewkit asks.

"When they are older. They're too young to play right now. Why don't you worry about trying to sleep for now," Silverfang meows in reply.

"But I don't wanna sleep! I wanna play!" the little kit insists.

"Sleep. Now."

"Ok," he mews in defeat, and curls up to sleep.

"Why don't you do the same?" Rowanwing suggests to me. "You look exhausted."

"Good idea," I mew sleepily. "Will you stay with me?"

"Of course," he meows warmly, laying down next to me. I take one last glance at him and our kits before falling deeply asleep.

* * *

I am awoken by a loud commotion outside. "What in the name of StarClan is going on out there?" Silverfang meows in a very annoyed tone. Rowanwing gets up to see what is going on and tells me to stay put. I do as he says and pull the kits closer to me, curling myself around them to protect them. I look outside to see that it is just barely sunup. _What could possibly be going on this early?_ I think, worried but also annoyed. Rowanwing sticks his head inside the nursery.

"There is a fox roaming just outside camp. There are three patrols at three points of the entrance on guard to make sure it doesn't try to enter. Keep the kits close and be ready to defend them just in case," he instructs sternly. Silverfang takes Shrewkit and Dustkit closer to where I am laying with Cherrykit, Thistlekit, and Adderkit, and lays down to where we are both curled up protecting all five of them.

"Thanks," I whisper to her.

"Anytime," she whispers back. Everything is silent now throughout the camp. _Cedarfang must have ordered everyone to go back to their dens and wait quietly_. A few minutes later Rowanwing comes inside to tell us that the fox left and was only sniffing around for food. Relief washes over me as Silverfang moves herself and her kits back to their nest so Rowanwing can lay with me again. It's only another few minutes until he is called out for the dawn patrol

"Sorry, I gotta go," he meows, licking me on the cheek.

"Stay safe. That fox may still be on our territory," I mew to him.

"You know I will," he says reassuringly. He walks out of the den. Just as he leaves, Amberleaf comes in.

"Hey! How are you doing? You were pretty exhausted last night," she asks, tilting her head a little.

"I'd be better if I could sleep more," I tease her.

"Oh, right. I'll see you later!"

"Ok sis," I purr in amusement. She walks out of the nursery.

"You have a lot of cats here who care about you, especially Rowanwing and Amberleaf. They just want to make sure you and your kits stay safe," Silverfang meows to me once Amberleaf is out of earshot.

"I know, and I'm fine with that, as long as they aren't too obsessive over it. Rowanwing already had to get that through his head once," I reply, slightly annoyed. _Why must she lecture me about this? I wasn't being rude to Amberleaf, and Rowanwing and I have only gotten in an argument once._

"Ok, I just want you to keep that in mind."

"I will," I say, hoping to make her shut up. _You don't have to tell me what to do like I'm an apprentice._ It takes all the self-control I have to not say this out loud to her. _The next few moons are going to be such fun if this is how she's going to be,_ I say to myself sarcastically. I drift off to sleep again, only to be woken again by the mewling of my kits for milk. I roll over onto my side to let them suckle, and they eagerly crawl over, with my guidance, to suckle my milk. I purr as they push against me to get the milk, and finally manage to fall asleep again.

I wake up again just past sun-high. _Finally, I was able to sleep undisturbed._ I glance down to see Cherrykit is crawling on top of Adderkit, who is mewling underneath her. I gently lift her off him and place her on the nursery floor. I lick Adderkit's fur back to place, and decided to give all three of them thorough groomings. By the time I'm done, they are all wanting milk again. _They don't do much this young, do they? Being a mother is more boring than I thought it would be,_ I think, yearning to be outside of the stuffy nursery. "Not very interesting right now, is it?" Silverfang asks, as if she'd read my mind.

"No, it's not," I admit

"Wait til they start walking. Then things will get interesting."

"Ok."

* * *

A few days later, I notice that Thistlekit's eyes are starting to open. I look over to where Cherrykit and Adderkit are lying and see that their eyes are starting to open too. _Won't be too long til they're walking._ I think in relief, having been rather bored for the past few days. Rowanwing and Amberleaf would visit me often, but it wasn't the same as being with them out in the camp. I missed being out in the sun and watching what happened around camp throughout the day. _Only a couple more weeks until they can go outside. Until then I'll just have to put up with being stuck in here. At least I'm not alone._ Just then Lilyrain enters the nursery. "Hi, Brightheart. I just wanted to see how you and the kits were doing," she mews warmly.

"We're doing fine, but it hasn't been very interesting lately," I meow back, happy to see her. She smiles.

"Tell me about it. I remember when I was stuck in here with you, your sister, and my other kits. I was just as bored as you are now," she teases me. We both purr in amusement.

"What did you do to pass the time?" I ask her, hoping for ideas on how to entertain myself.

"Well, I'd often find myself wondering who yours and Amberleaf's parents really were, and how much the must miss you. It wasn't until you two became apprentices that I found out they were both killed by rogues the night you were born. You do know that's how they died, right?"

"Yeah. They came to me in a dream a few moons ago and explained everything."

"Oh. Really?" she meows in shock. "I didn't know cats from StarClan could visit ordinary warriors."

"Neither did I until I saw them. I still question sometimes whether I really saw them or not."

"Interesting," she mews.

"Yeah. What else would you do to pass the time? Wondering who my parents are doesn't really do much."

"No, I suppose it doesn't," she says, amused. "Well, if I wasn't thinking about that, I was often thinking about who would make good mentors for the five of you and why."

"That sounds like a pretty good idea. I think I'll try that. Thanks."

"No problem. I have to go out on a hunting patrol now, so I'll see you later." She prances out of the den and over to where the rest of her patrol must be. I start thinking about mentors like she suggested, and find it actually rather fun. By sunset I have a whole list in my head as to who I hope mentor my kits and why.

Rowanwing brings me my food, as usual, only this time he doesn't stay to lay with me and eat. "Where are you going?" I ask, rather curious.

"Sorry, I already ate and have been chosen to go to the Gathering," he says as he puts my fresh-kill, a rather juicy looking starling, down by my head. "I brought you your favorite."

"Oh, yeah, it's the full moon tonight. It's been hard to keep track of time cooped up in here." He chuckles a little at this.

"Yeah, I suppose that can be difficult," he says, amusement in his voice. "Well, I gotta get going. I'll see you after the Gathering."

"Yeah. See you later," I say back, jealous that he gets to go while I have to stay here. He senses my disappointment.

"I'll tell you the news of each clan," he meows warmly.

"Ok," I meow back. He walks out of the den. I pull the starling closer with my paw and bite into it. The juices make my mouth water, and I remember that I forgot to thank Rowanwing for bringing me my favorite meat. _I'll remember to thank him when he gets back._ I take another bite out of the starling. _Fresh caught. Must have come from the patrol that just came in._ I chow down on the rest of the starling, hungry after not eating much all day, and roll over on my side to let the little ones suckle. I watch them as they drink, purring as they push up against me. As I'm looking them over, I realize just how much Cherrykit resembles my mother. Her sleek silver fur is almost identical to that of Cherrynose's, except Cherrykit is pure silver and doesn't have brown splotches or markings. As I'm thinking this, I imagine her and Firestorm watching us from StarClan, purring with joy, and suddenly I long for them to be here, to meet their grandkits and help me care for them. I am filled with sorrow and loss until Adderkit climbs up onto my side, followed shortly by his siblings. I forget my sorrow and purr in amusement as I watch them crawl around on me, and before I know it Rowanwing is back from the Gathering. _Wow, has it been that long already?_ I wonder as he comes in. "Hi, is the Gathering over already?" I say as he comes to sit by me.

"ThunderClan started accusing WindClan of stealing prey. WindClan got defensive and hackles started to raise, so StarClan sent clouds to cover the moon," he replies, and lays down by my head.

"Really? Anything else interesting?" I ask, curious now about what happened.

"Not really. RiverClan has two new apprentices, Dewpaw and Stripepaw, an elder, Dapplepelt, died in WindClan, and then ThunderClan only made that accusation towards WindClan."

"Oh, I feel bad for WindClan. Dapplepelt was a sweet old cat. And then to be accused of stealing prey while they're grieving is awful!" I meow with sympathy. "Why does ThunderClan think WindClan has been stealing their prey? Have WindClan patrols been caught hunting on their territory?"

"Nope. Apparently a border patrol smelled WindClan scent within ThunderClan territory. They say it's old though, so it could have just drifted across from the border. It has been quite windy lately."

"That's pretty unfair of Stormstar to just accuse WindClan of stealing prey when there is hardly any evidence that they had even crossed the border."

"Yeah. I wouldn't put it past him to start a battle over this. He has quite the temper at times, and his warriors will do whatever he says without any questions, at least none that they voice. And everyone thinks we're the bad clan." He shakes his head in frustration. I get where he's coming from; for longer than any cat can remember, ShadowClan was always the clan with the bad reputation, especially since we're the ones who were once lead by Brokenstar and Tigerstar many, many moons ago when the clans still lived in the forest, but now it's ThunderClan that's starting to earn a bad reputation. _I hope Stormstar and ThunderClan have nothing to do with my prophecy._ This is my final thought as I fall deeply asleep.

* * *

 **Pinedust- Wow, Chapter 4 was not easy to write! My apologies if it isn't the most interesting chapter. I swear it'll get more exciting soon.**

 **Snowcloud- Chapter 4? Pinedust, this is Chapter 3. Don't get ahead of yourself.**

 **Pinedust- Oh, right. Haha I knew that, I was just wanting to see if you caught it…**

 **Snowcloud- Riiiight… *rolls eyes***

 **Pinedust- Hehe. Um...no comment…**

 **Snowcloud- No comment? Wow, Pinedust. I'm now looking like the smart one for once. Well, that makes sense. I am the smart one.**

 **Pinedust- Hey! *sticks out tongue* that's not true and you know it!**

 **Snowcloud- That is most definitely true. Don't deny it, Fuzzbrain.**

 **Pinedust- What, cuz you're older? And who you calling Fuzzbrain, you Beebrain.**

 **Snowcloud- I'm calling you Fuzzbrain because that's what you are. You are always saying I'm a fuzzbrain, or a beebrain, or mousebrained. It's only fair to return the favor.**

 **Pinedust- Um, that's the first time I've ever called you a beebrain. And I only call you those things cuz they're true.**

 **Snowcloud- *eye roll* You are so mousebrained. Why can't you see me as the awesome, amazing cat I am?**

 **Pinedust- Look who's talking! And quit making yourself sound more glamorous than you actually are. You and I both know you aren't perfect!**

 **Snowcloud- YOU AREN'T PERFECT EITHER!**

 **Pinedust- Never said I was.**

 **Foxmoon- *walks up behind them* What happened to you two not fighting anymore?**

 **Snowcloud- Pinedust started it! *pokes Pinedust with her paw***

 **Foxmoon- I don't care who started it, I'm ending it!**

 **Pinedust- That sound just fine. *glares at Snowcloud* Pinedust, out!**


	5. Chapter 4

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Clanrock for a meeting!" Wolfstar's voice rings out across camp as she calls us together for a clan meeting.

"You can't catch me!" Cherrykit squeals as she races her brothers out of the nursery to go watch the clan meeting. I follow them out of the nursery and sit down just outside the entrance. Rowanwing walks over and sits down next to me.

"They've gotten quite energetic, haven't they?" he says, amused.

"Yes, and they've been quite the pawful," I meow. "You should see them when it's time to sleep!" He purrs in amusement as I say this. I look around for Silverfang, Darkclaw, and their kits, and see them sitting just below the Clanrock. Silverfang is trying her best to groom Shrewkit and Dustkit as they are bouncing up and down, excited about becoming apprentices. I see Darkclaw scold them, though I don't hear what he says, and they sit down immediately. Both him and Silverfang have very proud looks on their faces. This is their first litter of kits who have lived long enough to become apprentices; their first kits died of an unknown sickness that was later discovered as having come from some crowfood they'd eaten, and their second litter consisted of only one kit, Needlekit, who was taken away by an eagle when she left camp and got lost in the forest. Darkclaw tried his best to get his daughter out of the talons of the great bird, but the eagle was too much for him, and he was quickly overwhelmed. The eagle then flew off, carrying a struggling and mewling Needlekit to its nest. That was a very tragic day for every cat in ShadowClan. I was barely an apprentice when it happened, and had lived with her for two moons in the nursery. Silverfang and Darkclaw had grieved for moons, and had almost decided not to have any more kits, but that all changed when Silverfang yet again found out she was expecting Darkclaw's kits. This time, she gave birth to Shrewkit and Dustkit, and now here they are awaiting their mentors.

"Shrewkit, please come forward," says Wolfstar. The young tom marches forward with his chest puffed up as big as he can make it. "Shrewkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Shrewpaw. Your mentor will be Amberleaf. I hope Amberleaf will pass down all she knows onto you. Please come forward, Amberleaf." I watch my sister walk towards the Clanrock, beaming with joy as she receives her new apprentice. "Amberleaf, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Smokefur, and you have shown yourself to be patient and brave. You will be the mentor of Shrewpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." Amberleaf and her new apprentice touch noses and stand off to the side as Dustkit is called up. "Dustkit, you, too, have reached six moons of age, and it is time for you to become an apprentice. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Dustpaw. Lizardspeck will be your mentor. Lizardspeck, please come forward. " The dark brown tom obeys and steps forward until he is below the peak of Clanrock. "Lizardspeck, you are ready for another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Nuttail, and you have proven yourself to be wise and loyal. You will be the mentor of Dustpaw, and I expect you pass on all you know to her." Dustpaw and Lizardspeck touch noses and walk over to where Amberleaf and Shrewpaw are sitting.

"Shrewpaw! Dustpaw! Shrewpaw! Dustpaw!" We all chant the names of the new apprentices as the walk over to their parents, tailed by their new mentors. I hear Cherrykit and Adderkit off to my left a little talking about not being able to wait till they are apprentices. I look over to keep an eye on them, knowing they have a tendency to argue a lot.

"Who do you think my mentor will be?" Cherrykit meows in excitement. Adderkit looks down as he thinks. His head shoots back up when he's figured out an answer.

"Maybe it will be Cedarfang!" he mews in excitement. Cherrykit's face lights up.

"Maybe Wolfstar could be my mentor!" she meows in delight.

"No, Wolfstar will be my mentor!" Thistlekit mews in protest.

"You three will be happy with whomever you get as mentors," I say quickly before they start arguing.

"Let them be. They're just excited," meows Rowanwing in their defense. "I'm sure you did the same thing when you were a kit."

"How would you know? You were younger than they are when I became an apprentice! I can't say that you're wrong though."

"That's what I thought."

"Shut up, Furbrain," I meow affectionately.

"You know you love me," he teases.

"Yeah, yeah. You're still a furbrain though." I give him an affectionate look, and he licks my cheek.

"Ewww!" Adderkit squeals, looking directly at us.

"You'll be doing that one day too!" Cherrykit mews before I can say anything.

"No, I won't, cuz it's gross!"

"We'll see!"

"No, cuz it'll never happen!"

"Whatever." She rolls her eyes and sits down. "I'll just say I told you so when you find a she-cat you love and start licking her cheeks!"

"Good luck with that!"

"Whatever."

"She's right you know. There may come a day when you find a she-cat whom you love and mate with. Let's just hope she's from this clan," I meow, only half serious. He pretends to be annoyed when he looks at me, but I can tell he finds it amusing because he isn't very good at hiding it. He looks back at Cherrykit, who sticks her tongue out at him, and swipes her lower ears with his paw.

"Hey! What was that for?" she mews, pouting.

"Adderkit! Apologize to your sister. That was uncalled for," Rowanwing meows sternly. "Just because you don't like that she's right about something doesn't mean you can swipe her ears. Don't do it again."

"Yes, Rowanwing." He looks back at Cherrykit "Sorry," he mews to her, ashamed that his father got stern with him. She glares at him, but accepts his apology. We all fall silent for a bit, not having anything to do or talk about. Finally Thistlekit speaks up.

"Brightheart, can we go outside of the camp? We're bored," he meows.

"Not now. You three are still too young to leave camp. Why don't you go see if Owlclaw and Blueflower have some stories they could tell you," I say, and they rush off to the elders den.

* * *

Around sun-high I wake up from a nap and hear the voices of Lilyrain, Amberleaf, and Rowanwing discussing something behind the nursery.

"Should we tell her?" I hear Lilyrain whisper to them. Amberleaf replies first.

"I don't know. I think she should know, but she may not want to know. Do you want to tell her?"

"Not particularly. How about you, Rowanwing?"

"Not really," he meows quietly.

"Ok, well, one of us has to tell her!" Lilyrain meows in frustration.

"How about we all do it together?" Amberleaf suggests.

"Ok."

 _Tell who what? They must be talking about me._ I think as they enter the nursery. Lilyrain speaks first; "Brightheart, there's something we need to tell you," she meows, trying not to sound anxious.

"What's that?" I ask, curious and a bit concerned. Rowanwing answers me.

"A band of rogues have been spotted around the territories. So far ThunderClan and WindClan have reported seeing them on their territory, and one of our patrols spotted them crossing the RiverClan border onto our territory."

"Ok? Why are you telling me this?" I ask, although I'm pretty sure I know where they're going at this point.

"Brightheart, it's the same group that killed our parents and took us as kits," Amberleaf replies. She gives me a look of sadness, distress, and anger. I'm angry too at this point.

"Those fox-hearted cowards! How _dare_ they come back after what they did!" I hiss.

"Brightheart, calm down! You're scaring the kits!" Rowanwing says. I calm down a little and look at our kits huddled against the nursery wall, all of them with wide, fearful eyes. Seeing them so upset calms me down completely, and I walk over to them.

"It's ok, you three. You can relax now. I just got a bit angry, that's all," I meow warmly, trying to comfort them.

"Brightheart, do you think they'll kill you and Rowanwing and take us too?" Cherrykit mews.

"No, little one, your father and I won't let that happen."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." I turn back to Rowanwing and the others. "What are we going to do about them? Are we going to fight them off?"

"I don't know yet. And there's no 'we'. You're going to stay here in the nursery, no matter what Wolfstar decides to do."

"No! I want to be on the patrol that fights them! I _deserve_ to be on that patrol after what they did to my parents!"

"She's got a point you know." We whip our heads around to see Wolfstar coming into the nursery.

"Oh, hi Wolfstar. Were we being that loud?" Amberleaf asks, a little surprised.

"Not really. I just was walking by and heard what you were talking about," she purrs in amusement. "Anyways, Brightheart is right. She deserves to be on the patrol I'm going to send out in a bit. You all do, actually, since you have all loathed the rogues for what they did. I will ask around and see if someone can watch the kits."

"Oh, uh, ok. Thanks!" I meow as she walks back out of the nursery. A few minutes later Mistfeather comes inside. "Hi Mistfeather. Is something wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing's wrong, I just volunteered to watch your kits for a bit. I overheard Wolfstar talking to Shadebelly and Nightwhisker about watching them, and the four of us agreed that the three of us would take turns watching them while you're out. I'm so very sorry to hear that they are back," she meows comfortingly.

"Thank you." I turn to where Cherrykit, Thistlekit, and Adderkit are playing. "You three behave while I'm gone, or your first task as apprentices will be to pick fleas off the elders!" We all purr in amusement at their reaction to this. They quickly sit up as tall and straight as they can and meow "Yes, Brightheart," almost in unison. At this point Wolfstar has called another clan meeting, so we all head out of the nursery. Mistfeather stays just outside the entrance with the kits while Amberleaf, Rowanwing, Lilyrain, and I walk over to join the rest of the gathered cats.

"As I'm sure you all have heard, a band of rogues has been spotted throughout the territories and today were spotted crossing the RiverClan border onto ShadowClan by Darkclaw's patrol. I'm sure you have also heard that this is the same group of rogues that killed Brightheart and Amberleaf's parents and took them when they were kits. Cedarfang and I have organized two patrols to scout our territory for the band and fight them off if they are found. The first patrol consists of Lilyrain, Rowanwing, Amberleaf, Brightheart, and Tigerstripe, and will be lead by me. Cedarfang will lead a second patrol with Darkclaw, Blackfur, Thornpaw, Smokefur, and Flamepaw. The rest of you stay here and guard the camp. If they invade send the two fastest warriors to come get us. ShadowClan, let's head out!" She jumps off the Clanrock and trots swiftly over to where we are waiting to leave camp.

Wolfstar leads us along random paths throughout our territory. All of us are sniffing the air and have our ears pricked for any sign of the invading rogues. Suddenly Lilyrain stops. She sticks her nose high in the air, sniffs around, and then lowers her head again, her ears pricked and alert. A heartbeat later I hear what she must be hearing; fighting cats. _Cedarfang's patrol must have found the rogues. Or the rogues found them._ I think as we run towards the battling cats. We emerge in the training clearing and see seven rogues fighting Cedarfang's patrol. We all jump into action, fighting off any rogue we see. I pounce at a rogue on Darkclaw's back, knocking him off of Darkclaw and into the roots of a tree. He gets up and runs away. "Thanks," he puffs, trying to catch his breath for a minute.

"Any time," I meow, and turn around to see if anyone else needs help. In the time it takes me to scan the clearing, a big dark gray tom knocks me off my paws. "Oof," I say, surprised by his sudden attack. _Time in the nursery has made my fighting skills rusty._ I think as I quickly get up to face my attacker. However he doesn't do anything. He just stands there, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped a little.

"How?" he asks with a puzzled look on his face.

"How what?" I hiss at him.

"We thought you were dead. Surely you would have died in the cold and wet," he meows, still shocked. At this point the rest of the cats had stopped fighting and were looking at us. A few of the other rogues had confused looks on their faces too.

"Is that who I think it is?" a ragged brown she-cat asks.

"Look, that's the other one," a ginger tom flicks his tail towards Amberleaf, and everyone turns their heads to look at her. She walks over to where I'm standing and stands by my side. Rowanwing walks over to stand by my other side.

"Who's the third one? I don't remember three," the brown she-cat meows, looking even more confused.

"I am Rowanwing. Brightheart is my mate, and Amberleaf is her sister. You killed their parents when they were only kits, and you took them away and left them in the cold when you were attacked by one of our patrols. We took them in and Lilyrain," he flicks his tail towards the tortoiseshell she-cat, "raised them as one of us. They have grown up in ShadowClan because ThunderClan thought they were dead like their parents. You took them from their home, a home that they will never know thanks to you. You took them from their home, and left them to die. You are all cruel, fox-hearted cowards who are so pathetic that you take innocent little kits from their homes, kill their parents, and leave them to die, and today is the day that you will pay for what you have done." At this he leaps onto the back of the dark gray rogue, clawing at his spine and biting his neck. The rogue yowls in pain, and a little white she-cat flings herself at Rowanwing to try to get him off of the tom. The only thing she succeeds in is hurting her shoulder, and she limps quickly off into the woods, whimpering as she goes. From the corner of my eye I see Flamepaw and Thornpaw working together to fight off the brown she-cat who had spoken earlier. However they are quickly overwhelmed and stop fighting as well as they had been. I leap at the she-cat, clawing at her muzzle as I land.

"Go!" I tell the apprentices from over my shoulder, and they retreat to the woods. They don't get far before they turn back around to help Smokefur, who is fighting a black and white tom in the center of the clearing. I continue to fight the brown she-cat.

"This time, I'll make sure your dead," she hisses as she manages to pin me to the ground. She claws at my belly, trying to make me give up, but this only makes me more mad.

"No. You. Won't!" I growl as I shove her backwards and off of me. This stuns her for a minute, and I take that minute to knock her off her paws and pin her to the ground. I rake her belly fur with my hind paws, all while biting at her face and neck. "You killed my parents, and I won't stop until you are dead to!" I hiss in her ear. She looks terrified at this point, and I see that she is afraid of me killing her. I hesitate for a moment, but a moment is all she needs to slip out from under me and retreat. I let her go, thinking that I did enough damage that she'll die from her wounds. I managed to get two deep bite marks to her neck and several deep scratches elsewhere. _I'd be surprised if she makes it til sunset._ I think as I again scan the clearing. Most of the rogues have retreated by now, except for the ginger tom and a tabby she-cat, who are standing over the big gray tom.

"You killed him! You killed our leader!" the ginger tom hisses at Rowanwing.

"I know what I did, and I know why I did it!" Rowanwing hisses back. "He deserved it after what he did to my mate and her sister!"

"This is not the end! You haven't seen the last of us!" The ginger tom growls. He looks at the she-cat standing opposite of him. "Minnow, help me carry Stone back to the caves."

"Yes, Blaze," Minnow meows. She lifts Stone's rear onto her back, and Blaze does the same with his head and shoulders. They walk off into the woods, carrying their fallen leader. When they are out of earshot Cedarfang beckons to Darkclaw and Smokefur.

"You two tail them and make sure they cross the border. Make sure you aren't seen, heard, or smelled," he orders, and they walk into the woods in the direction the rogues went. The rest of us walk back to camp. Wolfstar and Cedarfang take the lead, talking to each other in hushed voices. I can't make out anything they're saying from where I'm at, but I assume it must be important by their tones. I trot to catch up to Rowanwing.

"Hey. Thanks for what you did back there," I meow to him.

"You're welcome," he says warmly. I purr and smile at him.

"Wow, did that really just happen?" I turn my head to see Amberleaf at my side again. "Did we really just kill the cat who killed our parents?"

"Yes, we did. Don't worry, I find it hard to believe too." She looks over my head at Rowanwing.

"Thank you for that."

"You're welcome. I'm glad I was the one to kill him," Rowanwing meows to her. _Yup, he's definitely ShadowClan._ I think to myself, amused.

"Hey, you did pretty great back there." We turn our heads to see Tigerstripe trotting up next to Amberleaf.

"Thanks," Amberleaf purrs. "You did pretty great too."

"Nah, you did way better than I did! I barely managed to fight off that ginger tom." They purr in amusement. _Someone's got a crush on Amberleaf._ I smile to myself.

"Someone likes your sister," Rowanwing whispers to me.

"I was thinking the same thing," I reply. He purrs, amused. "Hey, wanna see something funny?" I whisper to him, grinning.

"Sure." I swing my hip towards Amberleaf and hit her on hers, causing her to stumble into Tigerstripe and nearly knock him over. She recovers her footing with an embarrassed look on her face, and Rowanwing and I are laughing and purring, highly amused by her reaction.

"Hey! What was that for?" She pretends to pout, but ends up laughing too when she hears Tigerstripe purring in amusement. By the time we've all stopped laughing and purring, we've reached the camp. Mistfeather is waiting for us as we enter. She checks over all of us and treats any serious injuries, and then sends us all to our dens to rest. I happily obey, tired after the battle. I head to the nursery, where Shadebelly is watching Cherrykit, Thistlekit, and Adderkit. As I walk in, they greet me with excited mews.

"Brightheart you're back!"

"How was the fight? Did you win?"

"Were the rogues big and scary?"

"Are you hurt?"

"How many cats did you fight?" They all talk over each other, asking question after question and not allowing me to answer any.

Shadebelly sees how tired and flustered I am and says "Why don't you let your mother rest for right now and she'll answer any questions you have later. Fighting is a very tiring task, and your mother needs to sleep."

"Ok," they mew, and lay down to sleep.

"I didn't say you had to sleep." Shadebelly purrs in amusement. "Why don't I take you outside of the nursery and you can play around camp for awhile?"

"Ok!" they meow in excitement, and charge out of the nursery.

"Thank you," I meow to Shadebelly on her way out. She turns around for a moment.

"Sure," she says, grinning, and takes off after the kits. _She'll make a great mother one day._ I think as I settle down in my nest and drift off to sleep.

* * *

 **Snowcloud- Now see,** _ **this**_ **is Chapter 4!**

 **Pinedust- Shut up, Snowcloud!**

 **Snowcloud- No name calling this time, huh?**

 **Pinedust- Yeah, cuz I don't want Foxmoon executing her threat to get Firestar down from StarClan!**

 **Foxmoon- Hey, look at that! You're starting to learn!**

 **Pinedust- Thank you! *smirks at Snowcloud***

 **Foxmoon- No problem!**

 **Snowcloud- *rolls eyes* Whatever.**

 ***cat calls Foxmoon over***

 **Foxmoon- Well, looks like it's time for me to go out on patrol. See ya! *races towards patrol***

 **Snowcloud- *waits until Foxmoon is out of earshot* It's about time!**

 **Pinedust- Hey! Be nice!**

 **Snowcloud- What? I'm just saying it's about time she went out on patrol! *eye roll***

 **Pinedust- Uh huh, sure.**

 **Snowcloud- I am!**

 **Pinedust- Whatever. I don't want to argue with you right now. Pinedust out!**

 **Snowcloud- Snowcloud too!**

 **Pinedust- *rolls eyes as screen goes black***


	6. Chapter 5

"Guys, guess what!"

"Thistlekit, be quiet! You're gonna wake up Brightheart!"

"Cherrykit, you're being as loud as he is."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

I open my eyes to see the three kits in a small circle. Cherrykit and Adderkit have their backs to me and are still arguing. Thistlekit sees me awake and his eyes grow wide.

"Guys, you woke her up!" The two kits fall silent and slowly turn towards me with wide eyes. They all start apologizing at once, each trying to talk over the others.

"I don't think all that yelling is helping you guys." I turn to see Rowanwing walk into the nursery. The three kits lower their heads and whisper an apology.

"Did you need something, Rowanwing?" I ask, yawning.

"I brought you some food. The hunting patrol just got back." I look down and see the plump mouse lying at his feet.

"Oh. Thanks. Are you going to stay?"

"Of course. Don't I always?" he meows warmly. He picks up the mouse, and a lizard he got for himself, and walks over to lay beside me.

"Brightheart, when do we get to try fresh-kill?" Adderkit asks.

"Yeah, what he said," Cherrykit adds.

"Well, I don't see why you couldn't try a little right now, but only a little bit," I meow warmly to them. They each take a tiny bite of my mouse.

"Mmmm, that's good!" Cherrykit meows in delight. "I like it!"

"Me too!" meows Thistlekit

"Me three!" Adderkit adds. "Can we have more?"

"Not now or else your tummies will hurt, but I will slowly let you start eating more and more," I say, happy at their enthusiasm.

"Ok," he meows, disappointed.

"What if your mother and I tell you about the battle today after we're done eating?" Rowanwing suggests, trying to cheer him up.

"Sure!" he says, and is instantly more cheerful.

"Hey Thistlekit, you never said what you were going to say earlier," Cherrykit says, remembering what they were doing before I woke up.

"Oh yeah! Well, I overheard Wolfstar talking to Cedarfang about who our mentors should be, and Cedarfang suggested that he mentors one of us!" Thistlekit meows in excitement.

"Cool! I hope it'll be me!" Cherrykit squeals, also excited.

"No way! It's _definitely_ going to be me!" Adderkit says in protest.

"Ok first off, I've told you earlier that you will be happy with who you get as mentors, and second, how in StarClan did you overhear that Thistlekit? Those meetings are held in the privacy of her den!" I scold. Thistlekit gives me an ashamed look.

"I may have followed them to Wolfstar's den and sat outside," he mews. He doesn't look me in the eye as he says this.

"Thistlekit, you should know better!"

"I know. I'm sorry, Brightheart."

"Don't apologize to me. You need to go apologize to Wolfstar and Cedarfang." I look over at Rowanwing, who looks very disappointed in his son. "Would you be able to go do that with him while I watch these two?" I ask him.

"Sure. Let's go find them Thistlekit," he meows. Thistlekit lowers his head in shame as he follows his father out of the nursery. I turn back to Adderkit and Cherrykit.

"Were either of you involved in this?" I ask sternly.

"No," they mew in unison.

"Ok. Let Thistlekit's mistake be a lesson to all of you."

"Yes, Brightheart," they meow.

I finish up my mouse and watch them play as we wait for Rowanwing and Thistlekit to get back. _They've sure been out there for awhile. How long does it take to apologize to two cats?_ At that moment they walk back inside the nursery as if they'd read my mind. "You two were out there for quite some time. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine. Wolfstar just gave him a stern talking to about his actions, that's all," Rowanwing says in reassurance.

"Ok." I look at Thistlekit. "Did you learn your lesson?"

"Yes, Brightheart." This time he manages to actually look at me.

"Ok good. Now come over here so we can tell you about the battle."

"Ok!" All three of them rush over and sit down about half a tail length away. Rowanwing comes and sits next to me. They look up at us with eager eyes, waiting for us to start the story.

"We were wandering through the forest, searching for any sign of the hated rogues. Suddenly, Lilyrain smelled something. I sniffed the air and smelled it too. 'Rogues,' she whispered. I nodded in agreement. We charged through the woods in the direction of the scent and ended up in the training clearing. Cats were fighting everywhere. Seven rogues against Cedarfang's patrol of six. We immediately joined in, fighting off every cat we could." I pause for a moment, waiting to see if Rowanwing has anything to add.

"Tell us what happened next!" Thistlekit mews in excitement.

"Well, your mother pounces on a big brown rogue that's trying to take down Darkclaw and knocks him into a tree. The rogue takes off into the forest, yowling in pain." The kits' eyes are wide and excited. I pick up where Rowanwing left off.

"Next thing I know, a massive gray tom runs into me, knocking me onto the ground."

"Oh no! Were you ok?" Cherrykit asks, giving me a worried and slightly scared look.

"Yes, little one, I was fine. It just surprised me a little," I reassure her. "Anyways, I get up, and this tom has a look of pure shock on his face. 'How?' he asked, completely confused.

'How what?' I hissed back at him.

'We thought you were dead. Surely you would have died in the cold and wet,' he meowed, still shocked. I'll never forget the looks on the rogues' faces as the realized who I was.

'Is that who I think it is?' asked one of the rogues, a ragged brown she-cat. A ginger tom recognized Amberleaf and pointed her out to the rest of the rogues."

"At this point Amberleaf and I walk over to stand next to your mother," Rowanwing continues. "Seeing me really confused them. 'Who's the third one? I don't remember three,' the brown she-cat meowed, looking even more confused."

"So then your father proceeds to say...well, do you really want to hear what he says, or do you want me to skip that part?"

"Tell us what he says! Tell us what he says!"

"Ok ok," I purr in amusement and continue the story. "He says, 'I am Rowanwing. Brightheart is my mate, and Amberleaf is her sister. You killed their parents when they were only kits, and you took them away and left them in the cold when you were attacked by one of our patrols. We took them in and Lilyrain raised them as one of us. They have grown up in ShadowClan because ThunderClan thought they were dead like their parents. You took them from their home, a home that they will never know thanks to you. You took them from their home, and left them to die. You are all cruel, fox-hearted cowards who are so pathetic that you take innocent little kits from their homes, kill their parents, and leave them to die, and today is the day that you will pay for what you have done.' Then he jumps onto the back of the big gray tom, clawing and biting him. The tom yowled in pain, trying to throw him off, but your father doesn't let go. Instead he tightens his grip on the tom. A little white she cat who is no bigger than a seven moon apprentice throws herself at Rowanwing and the tom, trying to get Rowanwing off, but instead hurts her shoulder and limps quickly into woods, whimpering as she goes. I turn and run to help Flamepaw and Thornpaw fight off the brown she-cat. 'Go!' I meowed as soon as I had the she-cat's attention. The she-cat and I fight until she manages to pin me down.

'This time, I'll make sure your dead!' she hissed in my ear.

'No. You. Won't!' I hissed as I flipped her onto her back. I clawed at her stomach until she'd had enough, and let her go. She ran into the woods as fast as she could, yowling in pain with every step."

"We managed to fight off the rest of the rogues. They all run into the woods, whimpering and yowling in pain. Darkclaw and Smokefur tailed them, making sure they left our territory, and the rest of us headed back to camp. The end," Rowanwing finishes.

"Wow! You guys fought off all seven rogues? Cool!" Adderkit squeals in excitement.

"Yup! All seven of them!" I meow.

"Was it hard?" Cherrykit asks

"It was very hard, but we all worked together as a team and helped each other out, so that made it easier."

"I wanna fight like you guys when I'm older!" Thistlekit mews, also excited.

"Well, if you train hard and listen to your mentors, you will!"

"Ok! We'll train so hard that no cat can defeat us! We'll be the best warriors the clans have ever seen!"

"Yeah!" meow Cherrykit and Adderkit.

"Watch this!" Adderkit meows as he pounces Thistlekit's tail. Thistlekit yips in surprise.

"Adderkit, Thistlekit's tail is not a rogue, a snake, nor prey!" I say, only half serious.

"Yeah it is! Look at it move along the ground like a snake!" he protests as he pounces his brother's tail again. This time Thistlekit is ready for his attack and dodges out of the way. Adderkit lands on the nursery ground, disappointed that he didn't catch his brother's tail again.

"Nice move!" Rowanwing congratulates Thistlekit. The little kit puffs out his chest, happy to have pleased his father.

"Yes, but you three need to wait until you're apprentices before you start training," I meow to them.

"Ah come on Brightheart! Let them have some fun!" Rowanwing teases.

"Oh alright. Just don't hurt each other!"

"We won't!" Thistlekit meows.

I let them play until sunset, making sure no one gets hurt. They have fun pouncing each other's tails and swiping each other's ears in mock battles. Rowanwing and I laugh as they try to mimic real battle moves. They eventually give up and start making up their own random moves, some of which are actually pretty good. _They'll make great fighters one day._ I think, pleased. "Time to go to sleep," I say as the sun starts to set.

"Awwww! But we want to play more!" Cherrykit meows in protest.

"You can in the morning. Right now you need to go to sleep like your mother said," Rowanwing says sternly.

"Yes, Rowanwing," the she-kit mews in defeat. She curls up next to me, and her brothers follow her lead. I lay down and wrap my tail around them.

"I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight," Rowanwing whispers to me.

"Goodnight," I whisper as he leaves. I wait until I can no longer see him before I close my eyes to sleep.

* * *

"Brightheart! Watch this!" Adderkit squeals as he pounces on a leaf. He looks back at me, waiting for a reply.

"Very good, Adderkit! You'll be an amazing hunter one day!" I meow proudly to him. He puffs out his chest in pride at the praise.

Thistlekit gently prods my side to get my attention. "Will I be a good hunter?"

I bend down and lick his head in a loving manner. "Of course! All three of you will be great warriors. I know you'll make me and your father proud!"

"You hear that, Cherrykit! We're gonna be great warriors!" Thistlekit meows to Cherrykit in delight.

"I bet I'll be a better warrior than you!" Cherrykit meows to Thistlekit as she pounces at him. Thistlekit bounces backward, escaping his sister's grasp.

"I'm gonna be a better warrior than both of you!" meows Adderkit. Cherrykit and Thistlekit both turn towards their brother.

"No, I'm gonna be the better warrior!"

"No, I am!"

"No, I am!"

I roll my eyes as the kits continue to argue about who's going to be the better warrior. I hear Lilyrain purr in amusement beside me. I turn to see her watching the kits with an entertained look on her face. She looks at me when she realizes I'm looking at her.

"You know, they remind me too much of you and Amberleaf when you were kits. You two were always fighting over who was going to be the better warrior," Lilyrain meows in an amused tone.

"What was Brightheart like when she was a kit?" Cherrykit meows to Lilyrain as she bounds over to us.

"Yeah, Lilyrain! What was Brightheart like?" Adderkit meows, following behind his sister, Thistlekit behind them both.

Lilyrain lays down so she is at eye level with the three kits before starting her story. The kits sit and listen quietly as she tells them about my kithood.

"What's going on over here?" I turn to see Rowanwing walking up behind me.

"Shhhhh! Lilyrain is telling us about Brightheart when she was a kit!" Adderkit meows quickly before turning back to Lilyrain. He comes and sits down next to me and licks me cheek.

"So the kits get to learn about Bright _kit,_ huh?" He purrs in amusement.

I roll my eyes. "What, you gonna sit and listen too?" I meow jokingly.

"Yeah, Rowanwing! Are you gonna join us?" Cherrykit meows to him.

Rowanwing glances at me before turning back to the waiting kits. "Hey, why not?"

I glare at him. "Traitor," I whisper to him as he walks past me and lays down next to the kits. Cherrykit climbs on his back as they listen to Lilyrain.

I only half listen to Lilyrain until Thornpaw runs up to me. "Brightheart! Guess what!" He meows excitedly. "Blackfur taught me a new battle move and I got it right on the first try!"

"Good job, Thornpaw! I'm so proud of you!" I tell him. _I just wish that I could have been the one to teach you._ Blackfur walks up behind Thornpaw with a proud look on her face. "I hear that Thornpaw has been doing well," I meow to her.

She nods. "He already knew a lot because of you. It took me awhile to figure out just where you left off with him."

"I'm glad you figured it out," I meow jokingly. While I was talking, Thornpaw had run off to talk to the other apprentices, who had gathered to eat. Once he's out of earshot I start speaking again. "You're being such a great mentor for Thornpaw, Blackfur. I wish I could have continued to teach him myself but," I motion my head towards the kits. "They happened." Blackfur purrs in amusement.

"Four more moons and you'll be back hunting and patrolling. I was kind of sad you missed this yesterday, but Thornpaw caught a bird mid-air. Even Cedarfang was impressed," Blackfur explained.

I give Blackfur a warm look. "I wish I could of seen that," I tell her. I turn my head at the sound of mews of laughter coming from the kits. "Lilyrain, what did you tell them?" I ask.

Lilyrain turns to me as the kits continue to laugh. "I just told them about the time you attempted to sneak out of camp to hunt but got caught by a not so thrilled Wolfstar." I roll my eyes. _She just had to tell them about that, didn't she?_

"I remember Dawnwhisker telling me about that." Rowanwing adds. "She said she was going on a hunting patrol and all of a sudden she heard Wolfstar getting mad at someone. She turned to see Bright _kit_ sitting there getting scolded by an annoyed Wolfstar."

I glare at Rowanwing. _He is so dead._ My face lightens up when I remember what he did as a kit. "I wasn't the only kit to try to sneak out of camp though, was I?" Rowanwing's eyes widened when he realized what I was referring to.

"Who else snuck out of camp?" Thistlekit asks.

I look from Rowanwing to Thistlekit. "Rowanwing snuck out of camp when he was a kit. He was found by a RiverClan patrol." The kits gasp.

"He made it all the way to the RiverClan border?" Cherrykit asks in awe. I nod.

"Yup. He nearly fell in the lake," I tell them.

"Correction," Lilyrain meows. "He _did_ fall in the lake. He was in the shallows, thankfully." The kits laugh at the thought of Rowanwing slipping into the lake.

Rowanwing looks embarrassed as Lilyrain tells the story. He glares at me as if saying _you just had to tell them._ I give him an affectionate lick on the cheek.

"Rowanwing!" he turns his head at the sound of his name. Cedarfang walks up to the group of cats and sits down. "We need cats to go on a hunting party. You up for it?" Cedarfang asks. Rowanwing nods to the deputy. Cherrykit climbs down off of his back before he stands up. He shakes off the leaves that have clung to his pelt before following Cedarfang over the small group of cats I guessed was the hunting party.

"Do you have any more stories you could tell us?" Cherrykit asks Lilyrain.

"Yes, actually, I do! Anyone wanna hear how

Brightheart, or should I say Bright _kit_ , tried to treat herself when she had a stomach ache and almost ate death berries?" Lilyrain meows enthusiastically.

"Sure!" meow the kits. _Great StarClan!_ I think.

"Um, why don't we do something else?" I meow, hoping she won't tell the story.

"But we wanna hear it!" Thistlekit objects.

"Yeah!" Adderkit adds.

"What's wrong with me telling them the story?" Lilyrain asks, tilting her head to the side.

"Nothing's wrong, I just...oh fine, but this is the last one!" I say in defeat, and roll my eyes as she begins her story.

"So one time your mother had eaten a bit of crowfood when I wasn't paying attention. Well, you can probably imagine the belly ache that gave her! Well, instead of telling me and getting treated by Mapletail, who was medicine cat before Mistfeather, she snuck out of the nursery in the middle of the night and went into the medicine cat den. I'm woken up by a cranky Mapletail carrying Brightkit back into the nursery. She explained to me that she and Mistfeather had been counting marrow leaves when Brightkit had snuck in, undetected, and started sorting through the herbs, searching for something that could help her heard rustling in the bush by the herbs and went running to the herb storage just as your mother was about to bite into some death berries. She swiped the berries off your mother's claws, picked her up by the scruff, and carried her to Mapletail, who was waiting inside the main den. After lecturing her about how she could have died if she'd eaten those berries and shouldn't have tried to treat herself without knowing the herbs, Mapletail carried her back to the nursery and woke me up to tell me what had happened. Let's just say that I kept a close eye on her until I was sure she was asleep for quite awhile after that." The kits had started laughing again not long after Lilyrain had started the story, and I'd started laughing too. By the time she was done, we were all laughing and purring in amusement.

When we finally all manage to stop laughing, Cherrykit and Thistlekit asked to hear stories about Amberleaf. "Well, actually, I don't have many stories about Amberleaf when she was a kit. She was pretty well behaved. It wasn't until she and your mother became apprentices that she started misbehaving." Lilyrain meows. "In fact, at that point it was almost like she and your mother had switched who would behave and who would be the troublemaker."

"Yeah. I remember the times she'd sneak out of camp to meet with a RiverClan apprentice whom she'd befriended. What was his name again?" I say with a purr of amusement. What I don't voice is how relieved I am that we are no longer talking about me.

"I believe his name was Reedpaw, or Reedwhisker as he is now know," Lilyrain says in answer to my question.

"Hey! You promised you'd never bring that up!" We all look over to see Amberleaf walking towards us with an annoyed look on her face.

"Oh, yeah. Oops. Sorry Amberleaf," I meow to her. I could tell she was suppressing a smile. She finally gave up and laughed a little.

"I see you've been telling Brightheart's kits about us when we were kits," she says

"Oh, not just you two. Brightheart brought up that time Rowanwing got out of camp and fell in the lake," Lilyrain purrs.

"Yeah! It was _so_ funny!" Thistlekit meows.

"Not as funny as Brightheart trying to sneak out of camp to hunt!" Adderkit says.

"Yes, well, don't get any ideas! The three of us were very mischievous when we were younger, especially your father and I, but that doesn't mean you get to do what we did!" I meow, not completely serious. _I wouldn't be surprised if one of them tried to escape camp now. I'll have to keep a close eye on all three of them._ I think, half amused and half annoyed.

"Who wants to hear just one more story?" Lilyrain asks.

"We do! We do!" the kits squeal in excitement.

"Hey Lilyrain, what were _you_ like as a kit?" Adderkit asks in curiosity.

"Well, that's a better question to ask Blueflower. She's the one who had to put up with me for six moons," Lilyrain purrs.

"Did you have any littermates?" Cherrykit questions her.

"Yes, actually. Rainpaw was my brother. We were really close as kits. He and his friend Ravenpaw were killed by a fox when we were apprentices…" Lilyrain trails off. She has stopped smiling, and now has a very sad and longing look on her face. I put my tail over her, hoping to comfort her.

"Is...is that why you have the name Lilyrain? Wolfstar gave you his name?" I ask carefully, not wanting to upset her more. She brightens a little as she replies.

"Yes. I was very devastated when he died. So devastated that I sat in apprentice den for days doing nothing. That set me back in my apprenticeship, and I became a warrior later than I should have. When I finally received my warrior name, Wolfstar gave me the name Lilyrain in honour of him."

"That's a very honourable thing for her to do. I'm sure Rainpaw is proud that Wolfstar gave you his name," Amberleaf meows comfortingly. She looks over at the kits. "Why don't you three go play for awhile. Just stay within our sight and don't get into trouble."

"But we..." Thistlekit tries to object, but I cut him off.

"Thistlekit, do as Amberleaf said and go play," I tell him firmly.

"Let's go, Thistlekit. They clearly don't want us asking more questions," Cherrykit meows. _So young, yet already wise for her age._ I think proudly.

"Ok." Thistlekit finally gives in and walks away with his siblings. I watch them for a bit, and then turn to Amberleaf.

"Thank you for that," I meow to her.

"No problem," she replies. She comes to sit at Lilyrain's other side, and we sit silently for a few minutes, each one of us lost in thought. My mind wanders to the loss of my first apprentice, Hollypaw. _It's sad when apprentices die. They're so young._ I think. Finally, Amberleaf breaks the silence. "Why don't we all go get a bite to eat, maybe share a mouse or something?"

"I like that idea," Lilyrain meows, drawn back to reality.

"Me too," I agree, and we all get up and walk over to the food pile.

* * *

 **Pinedust- Wow! I can't believe it's Chapter 5 already!**

 **Snowcloud-*sarcastically* Wow. I'm so proud of you!**

 **Pinedust- Gee, thanks. *rolls eyes***

 **Snowcloud- You're welcome. *smiles***

 **Pinedust- Uh huh.**

 **Snowcloud- 'Uh huh' what?**

 **Pinedust- You know exactly what!**

 **Snowcloud- Eh, good point.**

 **Pinedust- That's what I thought! *glares at Snowcloud***

 **Snowcloud- *sarcastically* look! Pinedust is right for the first time in her life! Everyone, she deserves an applause! *claps paws together***

 **Pinedust- Um, what the heck is an applause? And how in StarClan did you do that?!**

 **Snowcloud- I forgot, no one taught you about twolegs… but back to how I did it, I stood up on my hind legs *demonstrates* and I hit my paws together like so. *hits paws together* and when a lot of cats or twolegs do it together, it's an applause. There is your twoleg lesson of the day.**

 **Pinedust- Wow, I can't believe I'm saying this, but that was kinda impressive. Don't let that go to your head though! And who the heck taught you about twolegs?**

 **Snowcloud- *ignores the last two sentences* FOXMOON! DID YOU HEAR WHAT PINEDUST SAID!?**

 **Pinedust- Um, Foxmoon's still on patrol...**

 **Snowcloud- You mean there was no witnesses to say it actually happened? *dramatically sighs***

 **Pinedust- Yup, that's exactly what I'm saying.**

 **Flurrykit- I heard it, Snowcloud! I'm a witness!**

 **Snowcloud- THANK STARCLAN! Wait till I tell Foxmoon!**

 **Jayflight- Flurrykit isn't the only one who heard it.**

 **Snowcloud- I HAVE TWO WITNESSES! *happily pounces in a circle***

 **Pinedust- Oh gee thanks Jayflight! You're supposed to be on** _**my**_ **side!**

 **Jayflight- You know you love me so shush.**

 **Pinedust- Yeah, and you're lucky I do, or else I'd claw your ears off right now!**

 **Flurrykit- *jumps in circles around Jayflight and Pinedust* Pinedust loves Jayflight! Pinedust loves Jayflight! *continues repeating***

 **Snowcloud- *rolls around laughing***

 **Pinedust- Great StarClan, Snowcloud! Look what you've started!**

 **Snowcloud- *still laughing* I DON'T REGRET IT! *meows between laughs***

 **Pinedust- You will when I claw your ears off later! *hears Jayflight laughing* *whips head around to face him* it's not funny Jayflight!**

 **Jayflight- I know I'm gonna regret saying this but yes, that was funny. *tries to contain laughter***

 **Flurrykit- The nursery is never this much fun! *pounces on Snowcloud***

 **Snowcloud- *squeaks in surprise* Flurrykit! *meows laughing***

 **Pinedust- I hate you all…**

 **All (besides Pinedust)- Love you too!**

 **Flurrykit- Flurrykit out!**

 **All (besides Flurrykit)- Flurryk- *screen turns black***


	7. Chapter 6

_O_ _nly two more moons until they're apprentices._ I think with some relief as I watch the kits play all across the nursery. Having the whole nursery to ourselves gives them plenty of room to tussle and play. Unfortunately though that means that there are days where they'd rather stay inside and play instead of going out into camp to run around. Leaving me stuck in here to watch them. Shadebelly comes in a few heartbeats later.

"Hi Shadebelly! What can I do for you?" I ask the gray she-cat.

"Hi! I was just wondering if you wanted me to watch the kits for awhile. I was walking by and happened to notice how bored you look, so I thought I'd give you a break and let you go outside," she replies. Relief floods over me, but I try to hide this as I reply.

"Sure! Let me know if they become trouble and I'll deal with them. Thanks!" I say as I get up from where I've been sitting since I woke up.

"No problem," Shadebelly meows as she takes my place watching the kits. I walk out of the nursery and into the snow covered camp, stretching and soaking in the little warmth of the sun as I do so. The first snow had fallen about a moon ago, and the camp has been covered in it since. _I'm surprised the kits want to stay inside. Most kits love the snow. I know I did when I was one._ I think as I trot over to the snowy food pile to grab some prey. I pick out a starling and look around camp, searching for Rowanwing, Amberleaf, and Lilyrain. None of them can be found. I carry my starling over to where Cedarfang is sitting eating his own prey.

"Hi Cedarfang. Are Rowanwing, Amberleaf, and Lilyrain out on patrols?" I ask him after setting the starling down at my paws.

"Not that I'm aware of," he replies, looking around camp for them. "Amberleaf is probably out with Shrewpaw, but I don't know where Rowanwing and Lilyrain are."

"Ok, thanks," I meow as I pick up the starling and walk away, still wondering where they are.

"If you find Lilyrain, could you tell her I want to talk to her?" I nod my head and continue walking. Where I am going I don't know. I end up laying down under the tree where Rowanwing and I used to eat, and slowly eat my starling. _Where could they possibly be? Maybe Cedarfang is right. But that doesn't explain where Rowanwing and Lilyrain are._ I wonder, a little worried that I can't find them.

As if reading my mind, both of them come tearing into camp. "Cedarfang! The rogues are back! We're outnumbered!" Rowanwing yowls as he keeps running. Cedarfang leaps into action as Rownwing and Lilyrain come to a halt a few tail lengths away from him.

"Darkclaw, Shadebelly, Smokefur, Flamepaw, Brightheart, and Lizardspeck, you're with me." He turns his head towards Rowanwing and his mate. "Lead the way," he meows to them.

"Wait! Brightheart can't come. Who will watch the kits?" Rowanwing protests. Mistfeather comes swiftly out of the den with an answer.

"Don't worry about the kits! I'll watch them! Now go!" the medicine cat demands. With that Rowanwing turns and takes of into the woods, leading the patrol to the fight. We race through the forest, heading in the direction of the lake. _Oh no! They're fighting on the shore? We can't swim! If we end up falling through the ice we're done for! Unfortunately that's probably their plan._ I think as we get closer to the lake. We reach the edge of the forest to see cats fighting all along our part of the shore. There are almost twice as many rogues as there were last time. _They must have gotten smart and strengthened their numbers. Our patrol is still outnumbered._ I think, furious and a bit panicked. I recognize the brown she-cat from last time. _She's still alive?_ As I'm thinking this I run over to where Shrewpaw is being overpowered by the she-cat and jump onto her back, clawing at her sides. She tries to throw me off, but I hold on tight and keep clawing.

"This time I'll finish you for good!" I hiss into her ear. She hesitates as she realizes it's me, and a take that opportunity to knock her paws out from under her with my hind paws. She collapses to the ground, screeching as her paw bends the wrong way. I put her out of her misery with a killing blow to the head, and she goes limp beneath me. I get up to see Shrewpaw standing in front of me, wide eyed and shaking.

"Thanks for saving me," he mews quietly.

"No problem. Why don't you go into the woods and take a break for a bit. I know this is your first battle and you haven't had a whole lot of battle training yet," I meow compassionately, and take off to fight another rogue. I end up fighting beside Amberleaf. Our moves the same, we fight off two of the rogues, a black tom and the tabby she-cat, Minnow, from the first battle. I look around for a few heartbeats. _We're still greatly outnumbered._ Just then we hear a yowl in the distance. Surprised, everyone stops fighting for a minute. We all look around, trying to find the source of the yowling, and spot a RiverClan patrol racing towards us, hackles raised and ready to fight. _Thank StarClan! They came just in time!_ One of the RiverClan cats leaps onto the back of a rogue, and as if that were a command, the battle continues. As we fight I start to recognize some of our RiverClan helpers. I see Shellshimmer and Reedwhisker fighting side by side against the ginger tom, Blaze, from last time. _Looks like Reedwhisker found himself a new mate who's actually in his clan. Not that him and Amberleaf were ever actually mates._ I think, a bit amused despite the circumstances.

Amberleaf and I continue to fight together, working as a team to kill or chase off as many rogues as possible. With the RiverClan patrol on our side, it's only a matter of minutes before we have the advantage. With most of the rogues dead or chased off, less than half of them remain. Two tabby toms, a black she-cat, and and a tortoiseshell she-cat are the last ones remaining. Waveheart of RiverClan is trying to take on both she-cats. I rush to her side to help her fight them off. "I've got it!" Waveheart growls. I ignore her and slash at the black she-cat, scratching close to her eyes. Too close. I end up scratching one of them, and she takes of yowling into the forest. Waveheart fights off the tortoiseshell and stands panting. When she's recovered her breath, she glares at me. "I said I had it!" she hisses at me. "I was doing just fine!"

"Don't kid yourself! You and I both know you were having trouble, so I helped you!" I hiss back defiantly.

"Says who?"

"Says I! Those rogues could, and _would,_ have killed you if I hadn't stepped in!"

"You don't know that!"

"Waveheart! Brightheart! Stop it!" We look over to see Frogsplash, the RiverClan deputy, coming towards us. "Brightheart, there's something you need to see. Come with me," he meows to me. I follow him to where my clanmates, and a few RiverClan cats, are all gathered in a circle. The ones I can see all have grave looks on their faces. _What is going on?_ I wonder, although I probably can guess the answer. _Someone was killed._ I think as we reach the circle of cats. The circle parts as we approach, and I can see who everyone is gathered around. _Oh no! It's Cedarfang!_ I collapse onto the shore, stricken with grief.

"Cedarfang," I whisper. Amberleaf comes to lay by me. "I know he wasn't actually our father, but he was the closest thing we ever had to one…" I trail off. Amberleaf presses her head into my shoulder, and I move closer to her, laying my head on hers. From the corner of my eye I see Lilyrain laying opposite of us, her head resting on her fallen mate's is lying next to her, her tail wrapped around her mother's back. Her head is resting on her paws as she lays there silently with her mother and her fallen father. _What will we tell their other kits?_

We lay there silently for what seems like forever, us mourning the loss of a father and a mate, others mourning a fallen deputy and a great warrior. After another few minutes, we all slowly start getting up. Being the other deputy, Frogsplash takes command. "Darkclaw and Smokefur, can you two take him back to your camp?" he asks the two warriors.

"Yes, Frogsplash. And thank you for helping us," Smokefur meows to the RiverClan deputy.

"Well, you were outnumbered. What did you expect us to do?" Frogsplash jokes, trying to lighten everyone's mood. Lilyrain glares at him. "Ok, I'll stop," he meows, and Lilyrain relaxes. Darkclaw and Smokefur carefully pick up the fallen deputy and carry him back to camp.

We all walk through the camp entrance, Darkclaw and Smokefur bringing up the rear with Cedarfang on their shoulders. They carry him over to the center of the camp as cats start to gather around to see what is going on. Cats all around us mumble Cedarfang's name as they see who the fallen warrior is. "Who will be the new deputy?" someone asks. I don't pay attention to who asked as I again lay down beside Cedarfang. I think I hear someone answer the question, but I'm not sure and don't catch what they say. Wolfstar comes in with the border patrol she was leading and trots over to see why everyone is gathered. Her eyes widen and her jaw drops as she sees her deputy lying dead at everyone's paws. She dips her head in sorrow and respect for the dead warrior.

"How did he die?" she asks after a few minutes. Rowanwing answers her.

"The rogues came back. Amberleaf had taken Shrewpaw out to give him a fishing lesson, and Lilyrain and I decided to refresh our fishing skills and joined them. The rogues snuck up on us from the forest. Amberleaf sent Lilyrain and I back here for reinforcements. Cedarfang took a patrol out to help us, but we were still outnumbered. That must have been when they killed him, but we were all so focussed on fighting them off that we didn't notice. The only reason why more of us aren't dead is because a RiverClan patrol saw us and helped us chase them off. He died honourably defending his clan."

"Thank you, Rowanwing." She lifts her head go address the whole clan. "Cedarfang walks with StarClan now, and will be watching over all of us. We will continue to mourn his loss until sunup. In the meantime I need to appoint a new deputy." With that she leaps onto the Clanrock to start a clan meeting. "Since you are all already gathered, I will just begin with the ceremony." She pauses for a few heartbeats, then continues. "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of Cedarfang and our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of ShadowClan is Smokefur." We all turn to look at the dark gray tom, who has a shocked look on his face.

"Why me? Wolfstar, you and I both know I don't have much more time before I retire. Am I really the best choice?" Smokefur questions his leader.

"I chose you because you are worthy of the position, and while I know it is only a matter of time before you retire, you are the only cat I want as my deputy right now." she replies back matter-of-factly.

"Well then, I am honoured to be your new deputy, and I promise to serve my clan well under this new position."

"I'm sure you will. This meeting is adjourned. Those who wish to keep mourning may do so now. Those who don't can return to their dens for the night." She jumps off of Clanrock, beckons Smokefur to her den, and together they walk through the veil of ivy covering the leaders den.

I continue to lay at Cedarfang's side until Rowanwing draws me away. "You should get some sleep. The kits are starting to worry about you." he meows warmly.

"Ok. Will you stay with us tonight?" I ask him, hoping he'll say yes.

"Of course." We walk to the nursery side by side. We enter to see the kits are already sound asleep. _Mistfeather must have slipped in after the ceremony to tell them to sleep. I'll have to thank her in the morning._ I think gratefully as I curl up next to them. Rowanwing lays down next to me and puts his tail over my back. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.

* * *

I open my eyes to see I'm in a forest. My vague memory of it from last time tells me I'm in StarClan again. _Cherrynose and Firestorm must need to tell me something._ I think. As I predicted, they step out of some bushes, but this time they are not alone. "Cedarfang!" I meow in delight, running over to the orange-brown tom. He purrs happily as I rub my head against his chest. "I'm so happy to see you again! What are you doing here though?" I ask, tilting my head as I draw away to look at him.

"Well, when I first arrived here, your parents gave me a warm welcome and thanked me for raising you and your sister with Lilyrain. They then told me how they were wanting to visit you tonight, and asked me to come along. So here I am," he meows warmly.

"Ok. I'm guessing you have something to tell me?" I ask, turning to look at Cherrynose and Firestorm. Cherrynose answers me.

"Yes. We are here to tell you that you must become the next deputy. You must work hard and prove that you are worthy of the position. We are aware that you are currently a queen and can't do much right now, but you must be the best warrior you can be once you're out of the nursery. We will also hint to Wolfstar that you need to be appointed deputy after Smokefur."

"But why? Is this a part of the prophecy?"

"Yes. It cannot be fulfilled if you do not become deputy and eventually leader."

"Ok. But why are you telling me this?" Firestorm speaks this time.

"Because we wanted to prepare you. It will not be easy taking on the role of deputy, and you will have a lot on your shoulders as both deputy and leader until the prophecy is fulfilled." As he says this, they all begin to fade away.

"Stop! Come back! I still have more questions!" I meow desperately. I don't get a response as they disappear completely, and I wake up in the nursery a few heartbeats later.

* * *

 **Pinedust- Chapter 6 is finally here! All cats old enough to catch their own prey read this story!**

 **Snowcloud- Your dream of becoming leader isn't gonna come true so stop pushing it.**

 **Pinedust- **** you, Snowcloud!**

 **Snowcloud- *Sticks tongue out* If anyone's gonna be leader, it's gonna be me!**

 **Pinedust- Well, Foxmoon's a bit more qualified!**

 **Snowcloud- So was Cedarfang, but you had to kill HIM off!**

 **Flurrykit- Well, that was harsh…**

 **Brackenheart- Apply ice to that burn…**

 **Jayflight- Anyone want to stop Pinedust from killing Snowcloud or do I have to?**

 **Flurrykit- I'd volunteer but I'd get run over before I stopped her.**

 **Brackenheart- You're on your own, Jayflight. *picks up Flurrykit and walks away***

 **Jayflight- BRACKENHEART! Get back here and protect your own girlfriend! I'm not gonna save her from mine!**

 **Foxmoon- *walks over to the three cats* What in StarClan's name is going on?**

 **Jayflight- *Attempting to hold back Pinedust from Snowcloud* Snowcloud said something and Pinedust wants to kill her for it. *Pinedust gets past him and pounces at Snowcloud***

 **Foxmoon- That's it! *Turns head to the sky* FIRESTAR! *Snowcloud and Pinedust stop and look at Foxmoon, horrified***

 **Firestar- *Comes down from StarClan followed by Sandstorm, Bluestar, Leopardstar, Tallstar, Crookedstar, Blackstar, Bramblestar, Leafstar, Sunstar, Thunderstar, Shadowstar, Windstar, Skystar, Riverstar, and Cedarfang* They fighting again?**

 **Foxmoon- *Nods* yep.**

 **Snowcloud &Pinedust- *Absolutely terrified* WE'RE SORRY!**

 **Cedarfang- Can I ask why you killed me before Firestar rips you to shreds?**

 **Pinedust- *Still terrified* Um… I heard StarClan is nice this time of year…**

 **Cedarfang- *Turns to Firestar* Can I shred her and you get Snowcloud?**

 **Firestar- *nods* sure.**

 **Sandstorm- This is gonna get graphic. I'm gonna end this so you guys don't have to watch. Sandstorm out!**

 ***Pinedust and Snowcloud yowl in fear and try to run with half of StarClan after them***

 _ **(To Be Continued…)**_


	8. Chapter 7

"Brightheart, are you ok? You were yowling for someone to come back in your sleep?" Rowanwing's voice sounds distant like he's talking from outside the nursery. I blink and shake my head a few times to wake up more. Rowanwing is looking at me from where he's laying, a worried look on his face. The kits are all sitting next to him, wide-eyed and looking a bit frightened. Sitting up, I answer his question.

"I saw my parents again and didn't want them to leave, that's all," I meow with a yawn, still trying to wake completely up. I don't tell them about seeing Cedarfang as well.

Rowanwing's expression changes, and he gives me a look of sympathy. "I can't imagine how hard it must be for you to not ever have known your parents, and I know you miss them a lot. I think it's really cool that they've started visiting you on occasion in your dreams," he meows warmly.

"Yeah. It just isn't the same though. I wish they could be here with us," I meow sadly.

"I know. But hey, if you'd never been taken in by ShadowClan, we may not be mates, and I don't want anyone other than you to be my mate," he purrs, trying to cheer me up.

"Awwwwww." We both look at the kits in surprise, having forgotten they were there. After a few heartbeats, Rowanwing and I laugh at ourselves, making the kits laugh too. Just then, Amberleaf comes in, followed by Shrewpaw.

"Hey, guys! What's so funny?" she asks. Cherrykit answers her.

"Brightheart and Rowanwing forgot we were here and started flirting with each other," she meows between laughter.

"Oh my," Amberleaf meows with a purr of amusement. She looks over at Rowanwing. "Lizardspeck and I are taking Shrewpaw and Dustpaw out for some training. You still want to join us?" she asks him.

"Sure." He looks back at me. "Well, I guess that means I gotta go. I'll see you later," he meows warmly and follows Amberleaf and Shrewpaw out of the nursery. _Why would he want to join them for training? He doesn't have an apprentice._ I wonder as I turn my attention to the kits, who have started playing.

"You three want to go play in the snow?" I ask them. They stop playing and look up at me.

"No thanks," Thistlekit meows for all three of them, and they continue playing. _Oh great. One of_ these _days again._ I roll my eyes in annoyance and lay back down. I zone out as I watch them, lost in thought. I'm brought back to reality by the sound of paw steps close to the nursery. I turn my head to see Shadebelly walking through the den entrance.

"Hi, Brightheart. I was wondering if I could watch your kits again. I have nothing better to do," she meows. I give her a puzzled look. "I just wanted to give you some time to yourself, that's all." I'm not entirely sure I believe her, but I let her watch them and get up, walking out into the snowy camp.

* * *

It's around sun-high when Amberleaf and Lizardspeck get back, tailed by each of their apprentices, Rowanwing and Lilyrain. I've just started eating a starling under the tree when I see them enter. Rowanwing spots me and comes over. "Hello. Where are the kits?" He asks as he approaches.

"They're in the nursery with Shadebelly. She offered to watch them again and let me get some fresh air.

"Decided to stay inside again, huh?"

"Yup. You'd think that because of the snow it'd be hard to keep them inside, not hard to make them go outside."

"Yeah. I know I loved the snow when I was a kit. It's strange that they don't."

"So did I. I drove Lilyrain nuts kicking up snow and refusing to go inside." Rowanwing purrs in amusement at this. "You're right though. It is strange that they don't seem to like the snow. Do you think we should ask them why?"

"That may be a good idea," he meows in agreement.

"Why did you go with Amberleaf and Lizardspeck to train? You don't have an apprentice," I meow, changing the subject.

"Amberleaf was talking about doing battle training today with Shrewpaw while we were fishing yesterday, and Lilyrain and I decided it was a good idea to review some of our own training because it's been so long since we've used most of it. We would have invited you, but we figured you should stay here with the kits."

"Oh, well, how'd it go?"

"It was great! Shrewpaw and Dustpaw were able to learn some new moves off of us, and we all had a great time!"

"Oh. Lucky you," I meow, jealous of him.

"Sorry, I'll stop," he apologizes, sensing my jealousy.

"It's ok. I just wish I could have joined you," I say wistfully.

"I know. You've only got two more moons, and then you're free to return to warrior duties."

"I know. But that doesn't do me any good now."

"Yeah. I'll tell you what; your first day out of the nursery, we'll go hunting together. I know you've always enjoyed that," he says, trying to cheer me up.

"I like that idea," I tell him.

"Good. Now, do you plan on finishing that starling?" he meows playfully.

"Oh, right. I forgot I had it," I laugh. "You can finish it." I push the rest of the starling towards him, and he eats what is left of it. He licks his lips after taking the last bite.

"I can see how this is your favorite. They are quite tasty."

"Yeah. I don't get why mouse is your favorite though. I mean, what's so interesting about mice?" I tease him. He starts to answer but is cut off by an excited squeal coming from the nursery.

"Rowanwing!" Cherrykit comes racing over and headbutts her father in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Rowanwing yips in surprise as he quickly stands up. Cherrykit giggles at his kit like yip. I purr in amusement as Adderkit and Thistlekit run over, followed by a very put out Shadebelly.

"Sorry, Brightheart. I tried to keep them under control, but they heard Rowanwing and came tearing out here like their pelts were on fire!" she says when she reaches us.

"They're fine, don't worry about it. You did just fine with them," I reassure her, and her mood lightens. _I was wanting them to come outside anyways._

"They're acting like they haven't seen him in forever." She gives an amused purr as she says this.

"Well, what can I say? They adore him! Especially Cherrykit." We both laugh.

"Hey, uh, a little help here! I'm kinda being trampled alive right now!" Rowanwing says through a mouthful of Adderkit's fur. Shadebelly and I continue to laugh as we pull the kits off of him. "Thanks," he meows light-heartedly as he gets up.

"No problem," I reply, still laughing. The kits tussle around for a while, kicking up snow and pouncing each other's tails. Around dusk, Thistlekit stops playing and comes over to me.

"Brightheart, I'm hungry," he complains.

"So am I," Cherrykit meows from where she is sitting a few tail-lengths away.

"Me too!" Adderkit adds.

"Well, you three are old enough to eat prey now, so why don't you go pick something to share from the food pile," I suggest. They take off towards the food pile, racing to see who gets to pick what they eat. Cherrykit wins and picks out a small crow. She and Adderkit carry it back and stop a few tail lengths from where we are sitting, while Thistlekit picks out a small lizard.

"Thistlekit, I said share," I meow sternly.

"But I don't like crow!" he protests.

"Have you ever tried it?" I question him.

"No."

"Then how do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?"

"Fine," he meows in defeat. He puts the lizard back and walks over to where his siblings have already started eating. He takes a bite out of the crow, chewing it slowly. Then he looks up at me, nods, and takes another bite of the crow. _See. Told you so._ I think, so badly wanting to voice it. Suddenly I remember something I've been wanting to ask Shadebelly.

"Hey, Shadebelly, why have you been wanting to watch my kits so much lately? Don't get me wrong; I like the fact that you do it, I'm just curious as to why." I ask the gray she-cat. She draws her attention away from my kits and looks at me. She glances at Rowanwing to make sure he isn't paying attention, then looks back at me.

"Because I'm expecting my own," she answers simply in a hushed voice.

"Really? That's great! Can I ask whose they are?" I meow loudly, happy for her.

"Keep it down!" she meows, looking annoyed.

"Oh, sorry. That's great. Whose are they?" I whisper.

"I...I'd really rather not say. And don't tell anyone I told you. We don't want everyone to know," she says quickly and turns her head away from me again. _That's odd. Why would she want to keep something like that a secret? Unless...no, not Shadebelly. She wouldn't do that, would she?_ I think, puzzled about Shadebelly's secret. I turn to look at Rowanwing, who doesn't seem to have heard anything we were discussing. He's to busy admiring our kits. _That's good. He probably doesn't need to know anyway._ I look back at the kits and notice they are done with their crow. They each pick up mouthfuls of the remains and carry them over to the dirtplace to be buried.

"Looks like we've taught them well," Rowanwing meows, surprising me a little. I turn my head back to him and meow in agreement.

"Yes. Already well mannered for how young they are." He purrs in delight as I say this. _He is such a great father towards them. No wonder they absolutely adore him._ I hear squealing behind me as Cherrykit comes bounding over to us, followed closely by her brothers. She leaps on top of Rowanwing's back.

"Got you, you rogue!" she yells as she lands on him, catching him off guard. He tumbles over from the force of her jump, and Cherrykit pins him as best as she can for being so small. Rowanwing plays along though.

"Please don't hurt me! I'm begging you!" he pleads in mock desperation.

"You should have thought of that before you trespassed on our territory!" At this point Adderkit and Thistlekit have joined in on pinning Rowanwing to the ground, both hissing and pretending to scratch him. Rowanwing yips and yowls in pretend pain as the three kits "scratch" him and give him soft blows to the head. Finally, he goes limp beneath them, and they get up and squeal in triumph.

"We defeated the rogue! We defeated the rogue!" they chant as they all bounce in a circle around him. I purr in amusement at their play.

A cat by the entrance calls Rowanwing over for a night patrol. Rowanwing gets up, laughing, and the kits all stop and look at him with horrified looks on their faces. "You're supposed to be dead!" Thistlekit meows.

"Well, you can't defeat me that easily," Rowanwing meows with a small growl. "I'll be back, you wretched clan cats!" he hisses as he walks away to join the patrol he was just called to.

As I watch him leave, a sudden wave of pain washes over my stomach. I moan. _Oh great, a stomachache. Just what I need. Maybe I'm too hungry. I'll try eating and if that doesn't help I'll see Mistfeather._ "Brightheart, you ok?" I look over to see a worried Shadebelly staring at me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a sudden stomach ache," I tell her, hoping to reassure her.

"Oh. Maybe you should see Mistfeather for that. She could give you some juniper berries or something."

"Yeah, I know. I think I'm just hungry though, so I'll eat something and see what that does."

"Ok." I walk over to the food pile and pick out a frog. _It's been awhile since I've had one of these, so why not?_ I think as I carry it back over to Shadebelly and my kits. I eat it standing up, not wanting to hurt my stomach even more by sitting or laying down. I eat it as slowly as I can for its small size, knowing that eating too fast will make my stomach hurt worse. When I finish I usher the kits back to the nursery. Exhausted from their play, they don't protest and fall asleep almost immediately. I wait a few minutes to make sure they are asleep, and then walk out of the nursery, making a beeline for the medicine den, my stomach still bugging me.

"Hi Mistfeather," I meow as I enter the medicine den.

"Hello Brightheart, what can I do for you?" the medicine cat asks.

"I've got a stomachache that's really bugging me," I tell her.

She gives me a sympathetic look as she meows, "You're not the only one. Cats all day have been coming in with stomach aches. I'm almost out of juniper berries. I don't know what's going on, but I hope it's nothing serious. Hold on and I'll get you some juniper."

"Ok," I meow as she walks off into her herb storage. She comes back a few heartbeats later with three juniper berries on a small branch in her mouth.

"Here. Eat this and let me know in the morning if your stomach still hurts," she meows as she sets the bluish berries in front of my paws. I carefully bite the berries off their branch one by one. I thank her and turn to leave. "Hold on. Before you go, I've been meaning to ask you if you know anything more about this omen you told me about a few moons ago," she says as I'm about to exit the den. I turn back around and walk forward so I'm standing about half a tail length in front of her. I think for a moment about what I want to say.

"Well, my parents visited me again last night along with Cedarfang. They told me that I need to be appointed deputy after Smokefur retires and that the prophecy can't be fulfilled unless I'm leader," I meow at last.

"Interesting. Did they say anything else?" Mistfeather questions.

"They said that I'll have a lot on my shoulders as deputy and leader until the prophecy is fulfilled. That's all they said before disappearing." I answer her

"Ok. I'll tell Wolfstar about it in the morning," she meows as she turns away.

"No!" I meow quickly. She turns back to face me. "I mean, I don't think that's the greatest idea. I don't want Wolfstar thinking I made it up to become deputy."

"If that is what you want, then fine, I won't tell her. Now, it's getting late. You should probably get some sleep." I meow in agreement and thank her again as I leave the den and walk back towards the nursery. I walk slowly, awed by the moonlight reflect off the snow, which shines like millions of stars on the floor of the camp. _I never realized just how beautiful snow is at night. This would be a great night for a walk in the woods with Rowanwing._ I think wistfully as I reach the entrance of the snowy nursery.

* * *

 **Sandstorm- Hi, everyone! I'm glad you guys have made it this far! Yes, I know I'm not Pinedust or Snowcloud but those two are still being chased by half of StarClan.**

 ***distant yowls from Snowcloud and Pinedust***

 **Flurrykit- Wow. Those two are still being chased?**

 **Sandstorm- Yup.**

 **Flurrykit- Then who wrote this chapter?**

 **Sandstorm- Ummmm, I think Jayflight did it.**

 **Jayflight- Wasn't me. Brackenheart?**

 **Brackenheart- Wasn't me either.**

 **Sandstorm- Then who...?**

 ***everyone turns to Flurrykit***

 **Flurrykit- What, I didn't do a bad job, did I?**

 **Sandstorm- Flurrykit? You wrote the chapter?**

 **Flurrykit- Did I fail?**  
 **Brackenheart- Fail? Flurrykit, this chapter is AMAZING!**

 **Jayflight- I agree with Brackenheart.**

 **Sandstorm- Well, I also agree with-**

 ***Pinedust accidentally barrels into Jayflight***

 **Jayflight- What in StarClan's name...?**

 **Pinedust- THEY'RE AFTER ME! HELP!**

 ***Snowcloud runs past with StarClan warriors hot on her tail***

 **Snowcloud- They're gonna KILL US! I'M NOT READY TO JOIN STARCLAN!**

 **Sandstorm- Wow, looks like Firestar got more of StarClan down.**

 **Snowcloud- *screaming* I'M SORRY!**

 **Pinedust- And that's my cue to run. See ya! *takes off with Snowcloud***

 **Flurrykit- Well, that's gonna get interesting...**

 **Foxmoon- Gonna get interesting? Oh, I find this quite interesting already! Maybe this will get it through their heads to get along!**

 **Snowcloud &Pinedust- *run past again, screaming* WE'LL GET ALONG! WE'LL GET ALONG! JUST SAVE US!**

 **Foxmoon- Sandstorm, I'll leave this up to you. Think we've had our fun?**

 **Sandstorm- Yes we have. *yells to Pinedust and Snowcloud* Cedarfang will still come after you no matter what I say, Pinedust! Snowcloud, you're fine!**

 **Snowcloud- *runs up and hides behind Brackenheart* I promise I will never EVER get into a fight with Pinedust again as long as I live! *Starts shaking with fear***

 **Brackenheart- *licks her head* I'll protect you from Firestar now. Don't worry.**

 **Sandstorm- *yells* Firestar! We've had our fun! Let Cedarfang do his thing!**

 **Firestar- *comes to a halt* Oh all right. *turns to Foxmoon* don't hesitate to call us down again if they start going at it.**

 ***StarClan warriors fade away except for Sandstorm and Cedarfang***

 **Pinedust- *is only being chased by Cedarfang now***

 **Sandstorm- I'm gonna go see if I can save Pinedust. Snowcloud, can you close us out?**

 **Snowcloud- *nods* Snowcloud out. *Is still shaking while Brackenheart tries to calm her***

 ***Sandstorm runs after Cedarfang, trying to convince him to go back to StarClan with her***


	9. Chapter 8

Leaf bare has finally come to an end as the warming sun melts the snow, promising a warm newleaf. The leaf bare moons were rough, but we all survived, and no one got greencough. Slowly as the days get warmer, more prey comes out from hibernation, providing more and more food to fill our hungry, leaf bare starved bellies. Rowanwing and I are sharing a plump mouse just outside the nursery when Wolfstar approaches us. "Hello Brightheart, Rowanwing." She greets each of us with a small nod as she says our names. Rowanwing speaks to her before I get a chance to say anything.

"Hi Wolfstar. What can we do for you?" he greets the gray leader.

"I just wanted to let you know that I plan on calling a meeting to apprentice your kits at sun-high. I'm sure you'll want to prepare them for it," she meows. Rowanwing and I look at each other. _Wow, has it been six moons already?_ As if reading my mind, Rowanwing voices almost my exact thoughts.

"Wow, it's been six moons already?"

"Indeed it has."

"Well then, we'll start getting them ready. Thank you for the heads up," he meows as Wolfstar turns to walk away.

"Of course," she says from over her shoulder. I beckon the kits over with a flick of my tail.

"Great news!" I tell them, and they each get an excited look on their faces. "Your apprentice ceremony is today!" They all squeal and leap with joy. Rowanwing and I laugh. I give them a few more minutes of excitement before I calm them down. "Listen; you three need to be on your best behavior today, and remember to be happy with whomever you get as a mentor," I instruct them.

"Yes, Brightheart," they meow together.

"We are both so proud of you three, and we are sure you will do great in your apprenticeships," Rowanwing meows warmly to them. "Now, go have fun before you have to start being serious about things!" They take off as fast as they can, running all across camp for the last time.

* * *

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Clanrock for a meeting!" Rowanwing and I are sitting just below the Clanrock to the left with our kits. We are trying our bests to groom each of them, but they won't stand still. They are all bouncing up and down with excitement. Finally, we manage to get them all cleaned up and they wait silently to be called forward. "As you all know, Brightheart and Rowanwing's kits have reached six moons of age, and are ready to become apprentice. However, there is something I would like to do first," Wolfstar meows from on top of the great rock. Rowanwing and I give each other confused looks, wondering what Wolfstar is doing. I look around at my gathered Clanmates to see that we are not the only ones confused by Wolfstar's words. However, everything makes sense when she says, "Flamepaw, please come forward." My Clanmates part to reveal an astonished Flamepaw, who slowly walks forward as her leader said. "Flamepaw, you have trained well in the ways of the warrior code, and with that, it is time you become a warrior. I, Wolfstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Flamepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Flamepaw doesn't hesitate to say, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Flamepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Flamewhisper. StarClan honors your bravery and commitment, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

"Flamewhisper! Flamewhisper!" The Clan cheers her name several times before Wolfstar silences them again.

"Thornpaw, don't think I've forgotten about you. Please step forward," she meows lightheartedly. The brown tabby tom obeys his leader and goes to stand by his sister. "Thornpaw, you have put your all into your training, even after you had to switch mentors because Brightheart was expecting kits, and you are ready to become a warrior," Wolfstar repeats the ritual she said for Flamepaw, now Flamewhisper, to Thornpaw, pointing out his unwavering loyalty to ShadowClan and his honesty, and giving him the name Thornrift. We cheer his name as we did his sister's. Lilyrain and their mentors are shining with pride as the new warriors join their Clanmates. Wolfstar waits for the cheers to die down before she addresses the new warriors again. "You two will sit vigil tonight in the center of the camp. Also, I want you both to know that your father would be so proud of how hard each of you trained." She pauses for a few moments before continuing on with the meeting. At this point the kits are bouncing up and down again, anticipating what they know is coming next. I quickly settle them down, and Wolfstar speaks again. "Adderkit, please step forward." Adderkit hesitates, giving me a nervous look.

"Go on. There's nothing to be afraid of," I encourage him. He slowly walks forward and stands in front of Wolfstar. "Adderkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Adderpaw. Your mentor will be Darkclaw. I hope he will pass down all he knows onto you. Darkclaw, please step forward." The gathered cats part again as Darkclaw walks forward. "Darkclaw, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Owlclaw, and you have shown yourself to be courageous and wise. You will be the mentor of Adderpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." Darkclaw and Adderpaw touch noses and walk to the side of the Clanrock for the next kit to come forward. Cherrykit is called up next. She confidently walks forward to take her brother's place, and sits quietly as Wolfstar speaks to her."Cherrykit, you are also six moons old, and it is time for you to become an apprentice as well. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Cherrypaw. Rowanwing will be your mentor. Rowanwing, please come forward" A gasp spreads through the gathered cats. Rowanwing looks at me, shocked. _It isn't often that a cat will mentor its own kit. Why has Wolfstar chosen Rowanwing to mentor his daughter?_ I wonder as Rowanwing walks to stand at our daughter's side. "Rowanwing, you are ready for your second apprentice. You have received excellent training from Cedarfang, and you have proven yourself to be compassionate and intelligent. You will be the mentor of Cherrypaw, and I expect you pass on all you know to her."

"Wolfstar, she's my daughter. Do you really want me to be her mentor?" Rowanwing questions.

"Yes, I am aware that she is your daughter, but I've watched you two play together and have thought long and hard about it, and decided that you are the best cat to mentor her. She listens well to you, and I think you two will make a great team."

"Then, in that case, thank you. I will train her as I would any other apprentice and not give her any special treatment." He touches Cherrypaw's nose, and they walk side by side to join Adderpaw and Darkclaw. Wolfstar waits for them to sit down before speaking again.

"Last, but not least, Thistlekit, please come forward." He walks swiftly to the head of Clanrock and stands facing Wolfstar. "Thistlekit, you are now six moons old, and it is your time to become an apprentice. From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you will be called Thistlepaw. I will be your mentor." We call out the names of the three new apprentices. Wolfstar jumps down from Clanrock to touch noses with her new apprentice and calls an end to the meeting. We all depart and go back to what we were doing before the meeting. Wolfstar beckons Thistlepaw to follow her, and they walk over to the food pile to get something to eat. I stand up and walk over to my other two kits and their new mentors.

"That was a long and interesting meeting," I meow when I reach them, keeping my voice low so Wolfstar doesn't hear me.

"Indeed it was. I was surprised when Wolfstar gave Rowanwing as Cherrypaw's mentor and then took on Thistlepaw herself," Darkclaw meows. I signal for the apprentices to leave, and they walk off to grab a piece of prey and join their brother.

"Trust me, I wasn't expecting those either," Rowanwing says once they are out of earshot. "Brightheart and I had no clue who would mentor our kits. However, I can say that I'm glad she gave you Adderpaw. He needs someone like you to mentor him."

"Thank you. I promise to train him well and teach him all I know. And I'm sure you'll do great with Cherrypaw."

"You're welcome, and thank you. I just hope I can keep my word to Wolfstar and not give her any special treatment because she's my daughter."

"I'm sure you will. Wolfstar wouldn't have appointed you as her mentor if she didn't think you could handle it," I tell him reassuringly. He gives me a look of gratitude and licks my cheek. I duck my head under his chin, closing my eyes as I press into his chest.

"Want to go on that hunting expedition I promised you a few moons ago?" he meows quietly in my ear.

"No, but a walk in the forest later would be nice," I answer him.

"Ok." We stand there for what seems like forever.

"Hey, uh, I don't mean to interrupt, but can I go?" Darkclaw meows.

"Yeah," Rowanwing replies without moving. I hear Darkclaw walk off. Rowanwing and I stand like this for another few heartbeats before he draws away. "I'm hungry. Want to go get something to eat?"

"Sure." I follow him to the food pile, where we pick out a bird and a small lizard. We carry our prey to our tree, which is starting to bud with little pink blossoms. We eat quickly and then share tongues, eager to get out by ourselves again.

* * *

It's just past sundown when Rowanwing and I leave camp. The stars are just starting to reveal themselves in silverpelt, the moon barely above the horizon. We talk about our kits as we walk through the darkening forest with our tails entwined. As the moon climbs higher in silverpelt the trees cast long shadows over the forest floor. The crisp, cool air is a nice change from the stuffy nursery, and the gentle breeze feels good in my fur. I decide to hit Rowanwing in the foreleg with my paw and take off running before he can retaliate, just like I did when we were apprentices. He runs after me, tearing through the underbrush as he tries to catch up. I laugh as he stumbles over a fallen tree branch and continues running like it never happened. I slow down a bit to let him catch up. He takes advantage of this and shoots past me, laughing as I give him an annoyed look. We run another few fox-lengths before we slow back down to a walk to catch our breath. I look up and am shocked to see that it's moon-high. _We must have been running longer than I thought we were._ I think as I stare in awe at the nearly full moon. _The Gathering is going to be in another couple nights. I hope I'll be picked to go._ Rowanwing entwines his tail in mine again as we continue to walk. I look at him and he gives me a loving look. I smile, trying to hide my embarrassment, and he leans in to rub his head against mine. I close my eyes for a few heartbeats, breathing in his warm scent. We both start purring. When I open my eyes I see that we have reached the training clearing. _I don't remember heading this direction._ _I must have not been paying attention to where we were going. I just blindly walked, trusting my instincts and Rowanwing to guide me._ We stop and lay down towards the center of the clearing, looking up at the stars covering silverpelt. _I forgot how beautiful silverpelt is._ We lay there on our backs, looking at the stars and watching thin clouds roll slowly across the night sky. _I wonder which stars are my parents. And Cedarfang._ I doze off a little, but not enough to count as falling asleep. I listen to the sound of the breeze gently rustling the trees, some of which are starting to regrow leaves. Somewhere overhead a bat squeaks, and I open my eyes to see it flying off through the forest. I realize the sky's getting lighter and nudge Rowanwing to get up. I roll over onto my side and stand up, stretching as I do so. Rowanwing waits for me to finish, and we slowly leave the clearing in the direction of camp.

The sun is barely peeking over the horizon when we return to camp. We are met by Darkclaw, Adderpaw, Russetblaze, and Tigerstripe as we walk through the thorn tunnel. _They must be the dawn patrol._ "What were you two doing out there all night?" Darkclaw asks us with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"We just decided to take a walk in the forest. Brightheart needed out after spending six moons cooped up in the nursery," Rowanwing explains to him.

"Ok. Well, next time let someone know where you're going. We had no clue where you two were," Darkclaw instructs. Rowanwing and I nod, and the dawn patrol walks past us. We enter the main clearing to see most cats are still in their dens asleep. Thornrift and Flamewhisper sit side by side in the middle of the camp, both looking exhausted after sitting vigil all night. _It's sunup. I wonder why they haven't been dismissed yet?_ I think as Rowanwing and I walk past them on our way to the warriors den. A sudden yowl from the nursery makes me jump, and I rush over to see what is going on. Rowanwing doesn't follow. _Shadebelly must be having her kits!_ I poke my head into the nursery to see that I am right; Shadebelly is lying on her side with Mistfeather standing over her. A small gray kit lies off to the side a bit. I enter the nursery, barely noticed by Mistfeather and Shadebelly, and sit with my tail wrapped around the little gray kit, whom I've realized is a she-kit. "You're doing great Shadebelly. Just breathe," I encourage the gray queen, remembering how painful it was when I gave birth. She nods in acknowledgment as her body spasms with a second kit. This kit is a little brown tom-kit, only slightly bigger than his gray sister. I immediately start licking his fur the wrong way to make him breathe. When I hear his first breath I announce that he's breathing. Mistfeather gives me a quick nod and refocuses on helping Shadebelly with her third kit. "This is the last one," Mistfeather promises the young queen. Shadebelly's body convulses as she pushes the last kit out. She huffs as the last kit is born, another small she-kit, this one silver. We let Shadebelly catch her breath before asking what she wants to name them.

"The tom-kit is Badgerkit." She looks warmly at her newborn son as she says his name. "The little silver she-kit is Echokit, and her sister is Cinderkit." She stares lovingly at her kits, whom I have placed at her side.

"Those are wonderful names," I meow warmly.

"Thanks. And thanks for helping me."

"Of course." The kits mewl, begging for milk. I help Shadebelly guide them to suckle as Mistfeather gives her some borage leaves.

"These will help you produce good milk for them," the medicine cat explains. Shadebelly nods as she watches her kits, purring. I smile at them as I leave the nursery and rejoin Rowanwing, who is waiting by the warriors den.

"Shadebelly had her kits?" he guesses as I approach.

"Yes. Two she-kits and a tom. They are beautiful."

"Wolfstar will probably announce their birth at the Gathering tonight."

"Oh, that's tonight?" I meow with surprise.

"Yup. And you're going. I was just talking to Smokefur about it," he meows in reply.

"Finally! I've been wanting to go to one for moons!" I yip excitedly like I'm an apprentice going to my first ever Gathering. Rowanwing purrs in amusement. "We better get some sleep then," I meow, calmer now. "We were up all night last night!"

"I agree." We enter the nursery side by side and walk towards our nests, mine still next to his. I lay down close to his side and almost instantly fall asleep.

* * *

The full moon shines brightly overhead as we walk along the shore of the lake. I walk next to Rowanwing and Amberleaf as we make our way towards the treebridge leading to the island. We are the first Clan to reach it, soon followed by Stormstar and ThunderClan. _Oh no. I hope Stormstar doesn't start any arguments again. I don't want clouds covering the moon and ending the Gathering early._ When it is my turn to cross I gracefully leap over the tangled roots onto the slippery bark of the dead tree, careful not to slip, and walk towards the island on the other side. I wait for Amberleaf and Rowanwing as they cross. "Can we wait for Tigerstripe?" my sister asks when she reaches the island.

"Sure," Rowanwing and I reply, almost in unison.

"Thanks." The three of us stand side by side as we wait for the orange and gray tom. _Looks like Amberleaf likes Tigerstripe as much as he likes her. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up becoming mates._ I think, slightly amused. I'm drawn out of my thoughts by Rowanwing nudging my shoulder, telling me it's time to go. The four of us walk together along the path leading to the clearing. I walk next to Rowanwing, Tigerstripe, and Amberleaf walking together on his other side. They whisper to each other, but I'm too far away to make out what they are saying. Rowanwing nudges me again, urging me to walk faster, and I realize I'm almost at a stop. I pick up the pace and we reach the clearing within another few fox-lengths. I see my Clanmates sitting to the far left of the clearing and walk over to join them, followed by Rowanwing and our companions. Wolfstar lays on the top branch of the tree, waiting for the other leaders. A rustle in the brush makes me turn my head, and I see ThunderClan filing into the clearing, soon followed by RiverClan. Stormstar and Ripplestar leap onto two other high branches, leaving the lowest of the four for Emberstar. WindClan enters the clearing not long after RiverClan. The Clans chatter and mingle for a bit. I'm greeting Rosepool and Bramblewhisker of WindClan just as Stormstar calls a start to the Gathering. A hush falls over the Clans as he speaks.

"ThunderClan would like to share their news first. We have two new apprentices, Robinpaw and Littlepaw." He pauses as we cheer the apprentices' names. I look towards the group of apprentices and see two unfamiliar cats beaming with happiness. _Those must be them._ The cheering dies down and Stormstar speaks again. "We also have had great hunting with the prey returning, and we are as strong as ever." The dark gray and black tom lays back down on his branch, and Ripplestar stands up to speak.

"RiverClan does not have much to share, just that we too have had great hunting now that the lake is starting to warm, and we have three new warriors, Snowstorm, Foampelt, and Sandfall." We cheer the names of the new warriors, as usual, their own Clan being the loudest. Ripplestar sits back down as Wolfstar stands for her turn to share news.

"ShadowClan has two new warriors, Thornrift and Flamewhisper, and three new apprentices, Cherrypaw, Adderpaw, and Thistlepaw. We also have three new kits, Echokit, Badgerkit, and Cinderkit." Our leader lays back down as the gathered cats cheer the names of the new warriors, kits, and apprentices. _It's a shame my kits couldn't come tonight. They'd be beaming with joy and excitement right now._

Last to share, Emberstar quickly stands a meow briskly, "WindClan has nothing to share right now." The small leader quickly jumps down from her branch as the Gathering ends. I walk through the crowd of cats, trying to find my friends from WindClan, who walked off to join their Clanmates when the Gathering started, but am stopped by Raventail. _Oh great. What does he want this time?_ I think, annoyed. However, I hide my annoyance as I respectfully greet him with a nod and saying hello.

"Hi, Brightheart. How've you been? I haven't seen you at Gatherings for a while," he meows, his voice tinted with concern.

"I've been fine. I've just been in the nursery with my kits for the past few moons and haven't been able to come to Gatherings," I meow back as politely as I can with how annoyed I am.

"Kits? Congratulations!"

"Thank you. Rowanwing and I are quite proud."

"I'm sure you are, but I want to ask you something; would you be willing to give one to ThunderClan, seeing how we are your birthClan? I think it's only fair that-" I cut him off, irritated now that he would ask such a thing.

"Fair?! How is that fair? They are my kits, and they were born in ShadowClan! They are as loyal to ShadowClan as I am! And they're apprentices!" I stalk off before he can say any more. He calls after me to wait, but I ignore him and keep walking. When I reach the bridge I leap on it and walk across it as quickly as I can, ignoring Rowanwing on the other side. I hear him turn in the sand and walk after me, keeping his distance but calling my name. I eventually stop and let him catch up.

"Brightheart, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?" He asks gently with a hint of concern. I explain to him what Raventail said, and by the time I'm done, he's just as mad as I am. "I'm gonna claw that tom's ears off the next time I see him! He has no right to ask that!" We start walking again in silence, both of us wanting to claw Raventail to shreds. I try to focus on calming down and am almost calm by the time we reach the camp entrance. I calm down completely as I walk through the thorn tunnel behind Rowanwing, who seems to have calmed down too. I follow him to the warriors' den and lay down beside him in my nest. I take my time falling asleep, pondering all the different ways I want to hurt Raventail. I decide on just ripping him to shreds, and slowly fall asleep.

I awake in an unfamiliar clearing surrounded by trees that look dead but are still standing. I turn my head side to side and look over both my shoulders, trying to find something to tell me where I'm at. The clearing is dark and eerie, and the trees frighten me a little. A bush rustles to my left and I whip my head around to see a big dark gray tabby tom walking towards me. "Hello Brightheart," the strange tom greets me. _How does this cat know my name? And where in StarClan's name am I?_

"How do you know my name?" I voice.

"I know every cat's name," he replies cooly

"Ok, well, what's your name?" I meow questioningly.

"I am Tigerstar. I'm sure you've heard stories about me." My eyes widen in fear and shock as I realize who he is and where I am. _He's_ the _Tigerstar! The one who brought BloodClan to the Clans before the Great Journey! That must mean I'm in the Dark Forest! He's trying to recruit me and turn me against my Clan!_ A million thoughts race through my head at once as I begin to panic. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I am successful. I look up at him.

"Yes, I have heard about you. And I know exactly why I'm here; you want me to train with you. Well, the answer is no; I will not betray my Clan."

* * *

 **Pinedust- *panting* Is he gone yet?**

 **Snowcloud- *nods* Yeah. They had to drag him back to StarClan.**

 **Pinedust- THANK STARCLAN! So I can stop looking over my shoulder wherever I go?**

 **Snowcloud- Yeah, for now…**

 **Pinedust- FOR NOW?! Does that mean he's coming back?**

 **Snowcloud- You're gonna have to make it up to him somehow or he might…**

 **Pinedust- Ah, I'll do anything! Anything he asks! Just so long as he stops trying to kill me!**

 **Flurrykit- *gasps* Pinedust?! YOU'RE STILL ALIVE? wow…**

 **Pinedust- Oh gee, thanks Flurrykit *rolls eyes***

 **Flurrykit- JAYFLIGHT! YOUR GIRLFRIEND LIVES!**

 **Jayflight- *comes running* Really?! *sees Pinedust* PINEDUST!**

 **Pinedust- Seriously you guys? You really thought I'd be dead? I could fight Cedarfang off easy peasy.**

 **Snowcloud- I can bring him back down if you want to test that *smirks***

 **Pinedust- Nope, I'm ok without that!**

 **Flurrykit- What? You scared?**

 **Pinedust- No! I'd just like to live, that's all!**

 **Snowcloud- But if you can fight him off "easy peasy", why would you die?**

 **Pinedust- Um, cuz he'd come back when I don't expect him to and kill me. Duh.**

 **Snowcloud- *rolls her eyes* Riiiiight…**

 **Pinedust- Also, would** _ **you**_ **want to fight him?**

 **Snowcloud- I didn't do anything to deserve it.**

 **Pinedust- Say you did. Would you want to fight him then?**

 **Snowcloud- I would make peace with him, explain why I did the action and hope the best. I would not use "fighting" as the first option. I would get my ears clawed off if I did.**

 **Pinedust- See? Exactly! You don't want to get your ears clawed off fighting him! Well neither do I! That's why I don't want you to test what I said, cuz even if he didn't kill me he'd certainly make sure I no longer have my ears!**

 **Snowcloud- I'M not the one who said I could "fight him off easy peasy"!**

 **Pinedust- Yeah, I know. But I asked if** _ **you'd**_ **want to fight him if you were in** _ **my**_ **place, and you basically said no, so if you wouldn't want to fight him why would I?**

 **Jayflight- Why do you guys argue so much? I thought you guys were friends?**

 **Foxmoon- Don't even bother. I've tried asking that before and look where it got us *jesters with tail to Pinedust and Snowcloud still bickering***

 **Brackenheart- *walks in* Hey guys, what'd I miss?  
Foxmoon- Snowcloud and Pinedust are at it again…**

 **Brackenheart- Again? Didn't they learn their lesson last time?**

 **Flamefur- Apparently not.**

 **Foxmoon, Jayflight, and Flurrykit- *jump in surprise***

 **Foxmoon- Flamefur?! Why are you-? Where did you-? Whaaaaaa-?**

 **Flurrykit- Who, in the name of StarClan, is Flamefur?!**

 **Flamefur- Uh, me?**

 **Jayflight- And you are…?**

 **Flamefur- Flamefur of WindClan. Why? Hasn't Foxmoon at least mentioned me? *glances at Foxmoon***

 **Foxmoon- *looks away, embarrassed***

 **Jayflight- Nope. Never heard of you.**

 **Brackenheart- Me neither.**

 **(At this point, Snowcloud and Pinedust have seen the newcomer and are rejoining their friends)**

 **Snowcloud- Uh, guys? *walks over behind Brackenheart* Who's the tom?**

 **Flamefur- I'm Flamefur, Foxmoon's boyfriend that she, ahem *glares at Foxmoon* never told you guys about.**

 **Foxmoon- *nervous laugh* It never got brought up…**

 **Pinedust- Ohhh, ok. Well hi! I'm Pinedust!**

 **Snowcloud- And I'm Snowcloud!**

 **Pinedust- *flicks tail towards Brackenheart and Jayflight* Those two are Brackenheart and Jayflight if you didn't already know. And the kit is Flurrykit.**

 **Flurrykit- HIIII!**

 **Jayflight- Nice to meet you.**

 **Snowcloud- Uh, guys? It's great to meet Flamefur and all but it's getting late and I'm going on dawn patrol tomorrow.**

 **Pinedust- Ok. Would anyone like to say the closing? I'm feeling generous tonight.**

 **Flurrykit- I'm gonna do it! FLURRYKIT OUT!**

 **Pinedust- Looks like Flurryk- *screen goes dark***


	10. Chapter 9

"No need to yell at me! You were visited by Tigerstar last night?" I ran to the medicine den as soon as I woke up this morning.

Upon entry, I had screamed at Mistfeather "Tigerstar visited me last night in the Dark Forest!" I now stand panting and panicked in front of her. I take a heartbeat to catch my breath and get myself under control. "Yes. At first, I didn't know who he was or where I was, but then he said my name, and when I asked him his he said he was Tigerstar and I realized I was in the Dark Forest and-"

"Slow down! My ears are hurting from all your yapping! Start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened," the medicine cat interjects.

"Sorry."

"It's ok."

I take a deep breath and start again, telling her every detail of my visit to the Dark Forest; how scared I had been of the dark trees and how surprised I was that Tigerstar knew my name and was talking to me.

"So then I realized what he was doing a told him I wouldn't betray my Clan, and he meowed, 'Why not? You're a powerful enough cat. All you need is some training, and you could rule over all the Clans.' I refused him once more, telling him that I have kits to care for, a mate I love and a sister who would never forgive me if I betrayed her and the Clans, and he chuckled, saying to me 'Your loss. You would have been a great addition to our ranks.' and then it was all over! I woke up and ran over here!" Mistfeather stares at me for a moment, thinking of what to say.

"Hmmmm. Well, the obvious thing is that he wanted you to join him in the Dark Forest. Why you specifically I don't know."

"Do you think this has to do with the prophecy?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"It'd help if we knew what the prophecy meant," I meow with an annoyed flick of my tail.

"It would, but prophecies aren't meant to be easily figured out. It takes time and guidance to figure out the meanings behind prophecies and omens, and they're given to us not only as messages to the Clans but to help us grow closer to StarClan," the she-cat meows wisely.

* * *

I tread lightly, carefully placing every step. The mouse has it's back to me and has no clue it's in any danger. I crouch down low, getting ready to leap on it. A stick cracks under my hind paw, and the mouse sits up in alarm. It looks around and, seeing me behind it, takes off into the bushes. I run after it, still determined to catch it, but it slips into a hole just as I get my claws close to its back. I come to a stop with a frustrated huff and look around for the rest of the patrol. I see Shrewpaw stalking another mouse a few tail-lengths away, so I head the other direction to see what I can find. _This is so frustrating! We've been out here since before sun-high and I have yet to catch anything! I was one of the best hunters before I had to quit my warrior duties to take care of my kits. I guess I've just been in the nursery too long._ The breaking of a branch catches my attention, and I turn around to see Nightwhisker behind me. "We're gonna head back to camp. We've been out here for a while now and have a pretty good catch." The she-cat turns around to find the rest of her patrol, and I reluctantly follow her, wishing I could stay out till I actually catch something. The trees above me rustle, and I look up to see a low-flying crow fly out from between the branches. I leap into the air, knocking it out of the sky. The bird squawks as it hits the pine needle covered ground. I kill it with I swift bite to its neck. I proudly pick up my catch and look up to see Nightwhisker and Thornrift watching me. "Nice catch!" Nightwhisker exclaims around the squirrel in her mouth. It comes out as "Nife cats." I nod in acknowledgment, suppressing my amusement and happy that I caught something after all.

We wait for Amberleaf and Shrewpaw. It's not long before the young apprentice comes bounding over with two mice in his mouth, his mentor following him with her catch. The five of us make our way back to camp, each of us proud with our catches.

The sun is starting to set when we enter the camp. We all make a beeline towards the food pile to add our catches and pick out something to eat. I choose the squirrel Nightwhisker caught, deciding that it's been too long since I last ate one. I look around camp for Rowanwing and see him come walking through the thorn tunnel, leading a patrol. _Smokefur must have sent him out on a border patrol while I was hunting._ I think as he approaches.

"Hi," he greets me as he scans the food pile for something to eat.

"Hey. How was patrol?" I ask him.

"Pretty good. The border with RiverClan is clear. ThunderClan on the other hand...we think they may be crossing onto our territory."

"Really? Does Wolfstar know?"

"Not yet. I was gonna tell her once I've eaten." He picks up a sparrow and gestures to our tree with his tail. I pick up my squirrel and follow him, setting it back down at my paws when we reach the base of the tree.

"You should tell her now," I meow to him as he lays down and takes a bite out of the sparrow. He takes a minute to finish his bite before replying.

"I will when I'm done. I promise."

"You need to tell her now. She needs to know. This could be really bad if they're doing more than just hunting," I insist. He gives me a slightly annoyed look, but gets up and walks over to where Wolfstar is sitting outside her den. I watch them as they disappear inside the den to talk. Wolfstar reappears a few minutes later, looking very put-out. Rowanwing is beside her in another few heartbeats. He glances at the leader, who gives him a slight nod, before looking at me and coming over.

"That was quick. What did she say?" I ask as he returns to my side.

"She's gonna call a Clan meeting at moonrise to give us orders as to what to do if we catch any ThunderClan on our territory."

"Shouldn't we just fight them off? Everyone knows to do that," I meow, tilting my head to the side in confusion.

"Yes, but Wolfstar…" he trails off, giving me a confused look. "You're right. We need to fight them off our territory if we see them trespassing. I don't know why Wolfstar wants to give us orders otherwise."

"Strange. I guess we'll find ou-" Wolfstar's call rings out through the camp, cutting off my words. Rowanwing gives me a mischievous look.

"Now," he meows in a teasing tone. I glare at him before walking to sit at the Clanrock.

"ShadowClan, I have some very important news; a border patrol was checking out the ThunderClan border when they picked up their scent within our territory." A chorus of angry growls and a few hisses sound from the cats around me. I let out a few low growls myself before we quiet down to listen to Wolfstar again. "I know that the normal thing to do would be to fight them off our territory if they refuse to leave, but if you spot a patrol you are to immediately send one cat back to camp to report it to me while the rest of your patrol fights them off. I will then take Mistfeather and two warriors to talk to Stormstar at the ThunderClan camp. If they or their scent are still found on our territory, we will announce a battle threat at the next closest Gathering."

* * *

"Easy there, Cherrypaw!" I call out as the young she-cat barrels into her father head first in an attempt to knock him off balance. Rowanwing and I decided last night to take her out for some training today after sun-high. Rowanwing shifts his weight a little but keeps his footing. I watch as Cherrypaw stumbles, dizzy from the impact with her father's chest. She shakes her head to clear it and follows her father over to me.

"Why don't we teach her how to stalk? You're the best hunter in the Clan, so who better to teach her than you?" Rowanwing asks me.

"Correction; I _was_ the best hunter in the Clan. Time in the nursery has made me rusty. But I'll try." I crouch down, stalking towards a leaf that I'd picked as my target. Carefully placing my steps, I inch forward. I glance right at Cherrypaw watching me, then focus back on my leaf. I get about a tail length away from it before I pounce, landing on top of the leaf. I look around, catching Cherrypaw's eye. "Your turn," I meow to her and back away from the leaf to join Rowanwing. We watch as the she-cat crouches down, imitating me almost move for move. _She keeps this up, and she'll be as good a hunter as I am._ I think proudly. By the look on Rowanwing's face, I can tell he is thinking the same thing. Cherrypaw skillfully stalks the leaf-like she's been doing it for moons, and when she's about the same distance away from the leaf as I was, she leaps into the air, landing on the leaf. She looks proudly up at us, her eyes gleaming.

"Did I do it?" she asks excitedly.

"Yes, you did. That was great!" Rowanwing meows enthusiastically to his daughter.

"Show me more, show me more!" Cherrypaw yips. I purr in amusement at her enthusiasm.

"Maybe your fa- uh, mentor, can show you the front paw blow," I meow to the energetic apprentice. _I need to stop doing that. He's her mentor while he's training her._ Rowanwing does as I say and gets up to show Cherrypaw the move. She learns it fast. "Great job Cherrypaw! You're doing great!" She looks at me and raises her head in pride. Rowanwing takes advantage of this moment to knock her off her paws.

"Hey!" Cherrypaw exclaims in surprise, but with a hint of amusement in her voice. Rowanwing gives her a mischievous look.

"Never get distracted in a battle, it's how you lose," he teases her.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm not gonna lose this time!" With that, she hurls herself at her father hitting his side and knocking him over. Rowanwing quickly regains his footing as Cherrypaw tries to pin him. I laugh as I watch their antics, and get brought into the fun when Cherrypaw swipes at my head. I headbutt her shoulder, sending her sprawling in the dirt. She gets up laughing, and her eyes glinting with amusement. "Is that all you can do?" she asks mischievously.

"You wish!" I meow loudly as a charge at her swiping at her head and shoulders. She ducks under the blow only to get knocked over by Rowanwing.

"This isn't fair! It's two against one and you're both twice as big as I am!" Cherrypaw meows as she gets up.

"Do you really think the enemy will be fair?" Rowanwing teases her.

"Well, no!"

"So then why should we be fair?" I chime in. Cherrypaw rolls her eyes, not making any more comments.

"Why don't we head back for the day? We've been out here quite a while," Rowanwing suggests. I nod my head in agreement and turn away, preparing to walk out of the clearing. Rowanwing joins me at my side, and I hear Cherrypaw walking behind us. The three of us slowly make our way back to camp, all tired after training. The sun is starting to set slightly by the time we return. I follow Rowanwing and Cherrypaw through the thorn tunnel and am met with a gathered Clan. _What's going on?_ I wonder.

"Perfect timing you three. The meeting was just called," Wolfstar meows from her perch on Clanrock. The three of us sit down next to Amberleaf and Shrewpaw and wait for Wolfstar to continue. She turns to address the whole Clan. "Smokefur came to me early today. He says he is ready to retire to the elders' den. I respect his decision. He has served his Clan well, and I hope he has a long and peaceful retirement. Smokefur, is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go to join the elders?"

"It is," Smokefur replies with dignity.

"Your Clan honors you and all the service you have given to us. I call upon StarClan to give you many moons of rest." Smokefur bows his head in respect and walks to join Owlclaw, Newtberry, and Blueflower by the elders' den. "Now, as I'm sure you all know, ShadowClan is in need of a new deputy. Brightheart, please step forward." Shocked and amazed eyes turn to me as my Clanmates part to make a path for me. I nervously make my way to the head of Clanrock. As I'm passing Lilyrain she meows words of encouragement to me, and I straighten up a little, holding my head higher. I sit down and make eye contact with Wolfstar, who continues the ceremony. "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. ShadowClan's new deputy shall be Brightheart." My Clanmates cheer my name as I proudly walk back to where I had been seated beside Rowanwing. However, my good mood diminishes as my father's words from a few moons ago echo in my head. _It will not be easy taking on the role of deputy, and you will have a lot on your shoulders as both deputy and leader until the prophecy is fulfilled._

"Hello, deputy," Rowanwing greets me with a teasing glint in his eyes.

I forget my worries at the sound of his playful words and mockingly reply back, "Hello, lowly warrior." Rowanwing's jaw drops and his eyes widen in pretend horror at what I just called him. I purr in amusement. "You know I love you," I teasingly reassure him.

"Do I?" It's my turn to widen my eyes in mock horror. Rowanwing laughs at my expression. "Of course I do. And I love you too fuzzbrain."

* * *

 **Pinedust- Finally! A chapter where Snowcloud and I** _ **aren't**_ **being chased by half of StarClan! *glares at Foxmoon***

 **Foxmoon- Well, you guys were the ones bickering. And I did warn you.**

 **Jayflight- She has a point there, Pinedust.**

 **Pinedust- Oh shut up, Jayflight! *angry flick of tail***

 **Jayflight- What? I'm only saying the truth. *purrs in amusement***

 **Flurrykit- Now you two are fighting?!**

 **Jayflight- That's not fighting, that was just annoying Pinedust.**

 **Flurrykit- OK!**

 **Pinedust- Trust me Flurrykit, you'll know when we're fighting.**

 **Flurrykit- It's usually easy to tell because Foxmoon will start threatening you with StarClan's wrath.**

 **Pinedust- Not what I meant but ok. *rolls eyes***

 **Jayflight- *bites back laughter***

 ***Snowcloud and Brackenheart walk in side by side***

 **Snowcloud- What's going on over here?**

 **Brackenheart- I swear, if anyone makes StarClan come back, I will personally claw you to pieces when you think I'm protecting you.**

 **Flurrykit- You just told them what you're gonna do so now they won't trust you!**

 **Foxmoon- I swear that Flurrykit has more brains and common sense than all of us combined!**

 **Flurrykit- If I ever wanted to kill some cat, I'd just climb one of your guys' ego and throw them to your IQ.**

 **Pinedust- Damn, Flurrykit!**

 **Snowcloud- Someone get some ice, she kinda burned us alive…**

 **Jayflight- Ouch, that hurt my ego. *pretends to pout***

 **Brackenheart- I'm pretty sure the cat would survive the fall from your ego. It's nonexistent. Kinda like your IQ.**

 **Snowcloud and Pinedust-OOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!**

 **Flurrykit- You have been burned!**

 **Pinedust- Great StarClan you two! You're gonna end up setting the whole forest on fire!**

 **Jayflight- …**

 **Snowcloud- I think you hurt your boyfriend's feelings, Pinedust.**

 **Jayflight- No, I'm just tryna figure out how I can have a nonexistent IQ and still be smarter than you.**

 **Brackenheart- You're gonna be doing that for a while then.**

 **(At this point Pinedust and Snowcloud are bickering again and are oblivious to what their boyfriends are saying)**

 **Pinedust- *half serious* Well your boyfriend's the one who roasted him Snowcloud! Not me! And you oooooohed too!**

 **Snowcloud- Because that's what you do when someone gets roasted.**

 **Pinedust- Exactly! But you still got no room to talk!**

 **Snowcloud- And why's that?**

 **Pinedust- Well, you told me I upset my boyfriend by ooooohing, when you ooooohed too!**

 **Snowcloud- He's not my boyfriend so I'm not as worried about hurting his feelings. Well, or his IQ since he doesn't have one.**

 **Flurrykit- OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

 **Pinedust- Uh, Snowcloud, I think you mean ego? *stifles laughter***

 **Snowcloud- You are gonna wake up as a hairless cat if you don't shut up, Pinebutt.**

 **Pinedust- Uh, my name is Pinedust. You need to work on your spelling there Snowcloud.**

 **Snowcloud- Nope, definitely spelled that right. *evil smirk***

 **Pinedust- You sure about that? Cuz I'm pretty sure my name is spelled P-I-N-E-D-U-S-T.**

 **Snowcloud- No, but I could call you Pinea** but that might be going a little too far, don't you think? So I'll stick with Pinebutt. It suits you better than Pine** _ **dust.**_

 **Pinedust- Oh now you're gonna get it! *lunges at Snowcloud, claws unsheathed***

 **Flurrykit- FIRESTAR! THEY'RE AT IT AGAIN!**

 **Jayflight- Don't you two ever learn?!**

 **Snowcloud- SHE ATTACKED ME- OW! SHEATH YOUR FRICKEN CLAWS YOU MOTHER- OW!**

 **Firestar- Pinedust… *sighs* please, just stop…**

 **Pinedust- NEVERRRRRR! *digs her claws into Snowcloud's back***

 **Snowcloud- YEOW!**

 **Cedarfang- NOW!**

 **Pinedust- Ok, ok, fine! *reluctantly backs off* She deserved it though!**

 **Snowcloud- I DIDN'T THINK YOU'D CLAW ME TO PIECES, YOU FOX-HEARTED IDIOT!**

 **Pinedust- Why you little-**

 **Jayflight- Pinedust! Chill! Great StarClan!**

 **Brackenheart- Jayflight, please control your damn girlfriend! I'd like to keep mine alive, thank you very much!**

 **Jayflight- I WANT TO LIVE AS WELL, THANK YOU!**

 **Firestar- EVERYONE SHUT UP!**

 **All- *are quiet***

 **Firestar- Thank you. Now, if you keep fighting, I swear I will send you two to the Dark Forest! So you two better behave!**

 **Snowcloud- She's the one who's trying to KILL ME!**

 **Pinedust- Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!**

 **Jayflight- Pinedust, I wouldn't push it if I were you.**

 **Foxmoon- Jayflight's got a point there Pinedust. You're already in deep trouble. I wouldn't make it worse if I were you.**

 **Pinedust- Whatever. *huffs and walks away***

 **Jayflight- I should probably follow her. You guys stay here. I'll be back in a bit.**

 **Snowcloud- Talk some sense into her, please!**

 **Brackenheart- Ok, Snowcloud. Let's go hunting. Killing something might help you not kill Pinebutt.**

 **Pinedust- *yells back* IT'S PINE** _ **DUST!**_

 **Firestar- Great StarClan…..**

 **Flurrykit- Flurrykit o-**

 **Firestar- We didn't say we were done!**

 **Flurrykit- Yeah, but I am getting tired of your arguing. FLURRYKIT OUT!**

 **Firestar- Flurryk- *screen goes black***


	11. Chapter 10

A cold breeze ruffles my fur, and I open my eyes to see the starry figures of my parents standing before me. I quickly stand up and dip my head in greeting. "Hello Brightheart," Cherrynose meows warmly. Firestorm echoes her and nuzzles my shoulder with his head. I purr, happy to see them again.

"I see you have been appointed deputy. We are so proud of you, even if it is part of an omen." Firestorm's eyes glimmer with pride and happiness as he speaks.

"Yes. We are very proud," my mother says with a warm smile.

"Thank you. I promise I will work hard and serve my Clan to the best of my ability." My parents' expressions turn grave as I say this, and I realize I'm here for more than their praise. "I'm not here for your praise, am I?" I voice to them, my meow tinged with apprehension.

"Unfortunately not. We'll make a pleasure visit soon. Right now, there's something you need to know," Firestorm meows, increasing my apprehension. Cherrynose picks up where he left off.

"As you know, you have a lot of big responsibilities now that you're deputy, not just the regular ones but ones concerning the prophecy too. You need to start preparing ShadowClan and the rest of the Clans for this cat. Now that you are deputy more cats will listen to you, but don't be surprised if some cats get angry or think you are totally nuts. Whatever happens, you can't give up. You must get the Clans as prepared as possible for this cat, starting with announcing the prophecy at the next Gathering." As usual, she and Firestorm fade away into nothing when she's finished speaking. _I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that._

I'm woken up by someone shaking my side. "Just a few more minutes," I grumble to whoever's shaking me.

"No can do. You're late for your duties! Now get up sleepy head!" The half annoyed voice of Dawnwhisker reaches my ears, and I remember I'm deputy now. _Mouse dung! My first day as deputy and I oversleep!_ I quickly shoot up out of my nest and stretch as I walk out into the bright new-leaf sun. Blinking, I look around to see that most of my Clanmates are already in camp. _It's already sun-up! The dawn patrol never got sent out! I'm already failing as deputy!_ I think, panicking. I spot Wolfstar eating a mouse by her den and race over to her.

"Wolfstar! I'm so sorry! I'll send out the dawn patrol right now, and I'll get out two, no three hunting patrols and-"

"It's ok Brightheart. It's your first day. You'll get the hang of it. And I already sent out a dawn patrol. Tigerstripe, Russetblaze, Lizardspeck, and Dustpaw should be back any minute now," Wolfstar meows calmly before I can finish speaking. My eyes widen in amazement at how calm she is.

"Thank...thank you. I was totally expecting you to be mad at me. I promise I will wake up next time!" I meow as relief washes over me. _Thank StarClan! I thought for sure she was gonna claw my ears off!_

"Of course. Now go set out those patrols you were talking about!" she purrs, amusement in her eyes. I dip my head and turn away, walking toward the center of the camp. My Clanmates gather around me to hear the patrols.

"Flamewhisper, I want you to lead a hunting patrol with Rowanwing, Cherrypaw, and Toadfoot." I stop to think about how Smokefur and Cedarfang would organize border patrols. _If I remember correctly they would organize all the patrols right about now and tell each one what they are doing and when they are leaving._ "Nightwhisker, I want you and three other cats to patrol the ThunderClan border at sun-high. I will lead a patrol to the RiverClan border at sundown with Blackfur and Darkclaw. Thornrift, you lead a patrol with two other cats to the ThunderClan border at sundown." Wolfstar walks up, licking her jaws from the mouse she was eating.

"I'd like to take Thistlepaw on one of the ThunderClan border patrols. I want ThunderClan to know that I am aware of their threat and am not afraid to face them."

"Ok." I turn towards Thornrift. "Are you willing to have them join your patrol?" I ask the brown tabby tom.

"Of course. Wolfstar, would you like to lead?" He meows, tilting his head to his leader.

"No, you can go ahead and lead it. Thistlepaw and I will just tag along."

"Ok." With that, my Clanmates disperse to do their tasks for the day. Rowanwing walks over to me.

"I see you're finally up, Brightheart," he meows, his voice ringing with mischief. I roll my eyes, half annoyed and half amused.

"Yeah, yeah I overslept. Wolfstar understands. It's no big deal. Shouldn't you be out hunting?" He flicks his tail over my ear and gives me a guilty look.

"Um…" He glances around like he's searching for an answer. Sighing, he gives up and meows, "I guess you're right. I'll see you when I get back." He turns away to join his patrol by the thorn tunnel. _Maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh. I'll apologize later_. I think as a wave of guilt washes over me. _I guess I'm just stressed_. As the hunting party starts walking out, Dustpaw comes tearing into camp with a panicked look on his face.

"Wolfstar! Brightheart! ThunderClan's threatening the dawn patrol! They're saying that if we don't let them on our territory they'll kill us!" the frightened apprentice yowls.

"Those fox-hearted cowards! Stormstar is worse than I thought he was! Darkclaw, Rowanwing, Nightwhisker, and Mistfeather, with me! We're going to the ThunderClan camp to get it through the head of that fox-hearted excuse of a leader that ShadowClan can't be pushed around by him!" Wolfstar growls, flicking her tail in anger. "Dustpaw, lead the way. I'm going to send your patrol back here so we don't look like a raid party, and then lead this patrol to the heart of ThunderClan."

"Yes, Wolfstar." The young apprentice quickly leads the patrol out of camp while the rest of us huddle into small groups to discuss what is going on. I end up with Lilyrain, Amberleaf, and Tigerstripe next to the camp entrance.

"Those StarClan forsaken ThunderClan cats are going to end up pissing off all the Clans! Tigerstripe meows with a low growl.

"Yeah, no kidding! The only Clan not mad at them right now is RiverClan!" I hiss with an angry lash of my tail.

"No, I'm pretty sure RiverClan is fed up with them too. If I remember correctly Ripplestar didn't look too happy when Stormstar made his accusation towards WindClan a few moons ago," Lilyrain adds in a calm tone, but the look in her eyes gives away her anger. I get up and start pacing, anxious about the looming threat. _I hope Rowanwing is ok._

* * *

It's almost sun-high by the time the patrol returns. Wolfstar exchanges a few words with Darkclaw and then quickly marches to her den, flicking her tail as she goes. _She's not happy. Something must have happened in ThunderClan_. I think as I watch her disappear into the den. I stare in her direction for a few more moments before turning to greet Rowanwing. "Hey. How'd it go?" His gaze hardens as he answers. "Not good. Stormstar has declared war upon us, so we need to watch our tails for any signs of a raid party for the next few moons," he meows hotly. I claw at the needles covering the camp floor, anxious about what he just told me. _Oh great! As if the rogues a few moons ago weren't enough!_

Out of nowhere, a drop of rain splatters on my nose, and I look up to see dark clouds rolling in from somewhere in the distance. A few more droplets fall, and I sigh as I realize a storm is on its way. "It's about time. We haven't had rain in moons!" Blackfur's voice surprises me, and I jump a little. She lets out a _merow_ of amusement as she pads to my side. "Could someone replace me on the border patrol later? Silverfang and Russetblaze are going hunting and invited me to join them." I think for a moment, considering whether to be strict and tell her no, or be nice and say yes. _What would Cedarfang do?_

"That's fine, but only this once!" I tell her sternly. She dips her head in acknowledgment and runs to join her sisters.

"That was nice of you. Shouldn't you have told her no though? I mean, now everyone's gonna ask that," Rowanwing meows, his tail flicking in disapproval.

"I don't think _everyone_ will start asking to skip patrols! Plus I did tell her she can do it _just this one time_!" My meow is defiant and lay my ears back as I glare at him. He lets out a small growl as he speaks.

"So? I think we both know that you'd let her do it again if she asked, which she's gonna now that you let her this time!"

"Why does it matter to you? It's not that big a deal!"

"Because we need to have strong patrols right now! ThunderClan could attack at any time!"

"She was part of a RiverClan border patrol! We don't need to worry about RiverClan right now!"

"That's not the point! You still could meet a ThunderClan party on the _way_ to the RiverClan border!"

"Stop telling me how I should control the Clan! You've never been deputy before, so stop acting like you have!"

"Yeah well, neither have you! And I'm not the one who woke up late on their first day!"

"Wolfstar was fine with that! She understood! Why can't you understand too? It was just a mouse-brained mistake!"

"Yeah? Well if I were deputy I never would have made the mistake!" His words hurt, and I fall silent for a moment.

"Why would you say something like that?" I mew, my voice shaking. He relaxes as he realizes that he's hurt me.

"Brightheart, I'm sorr-

"No! I don't want to hear it! I'm done talking to you!" I turn and take off towards the camp entrance.

"Brightheart! Wait! Come back!" I hear him start to follow me, but when I look back Lilyrain is blocking his path. _Thank you Lilyrain!_

I wait until I'm well away from camp to slow down to a walk, and just walk around the territory with no particular place to go. The soft needles feel good under my paws, and the quiet forest is comforting. I try not to think about what just happened, and instead focus on the looming threat of ThunderClan. _We should probably refresh every cats' fighting skills, so there is no weak link when a battle breaks out. I'll talk to Wolfstar about organizing training parties._ "Brightheart!" The sound of my name interrupts my thoughts, and I turn around to see Amberleaf running towards me. I break back into a run myself, not wanting to talk to her. "Brightheart, wait!" she yowls in desperation.

"No! I don't want to talk to anyone!"

"But you're about to enter ThunderClan territory!" I halt just before the border, shocked at how close I'd been to it. Amberleaf takes advantage of this and catches up to me. I let out a hiss of frustration as I turn to face her.

"What part of 'I don't want to talk to anyone' don't you get?" I arch my back and dig my claws into the ground as I growl the words at her. She doesn't back down like I thought she would. Instead, she pins her ears pack and gives me a defiant look.

"I understood it just fine, thank you very much. But you're my sister, and I want to know what's going on. What was that back there? You and Rowanwing never fight like that," Her challenging yet somehow calm tone is unnerving, and I slowly relax with a defeated huff.

"I don't know. I don't know why he got so mad at me. I mean, all I did was let Blackfur go on a hunting party with Silverfang and Russetblaze instead of patrolling the RiverClan border with me at sundown! Was doing that really that bad?"

"No, not really. And I did hear you tell her _just this one time,_ so it's really no big deal. Your guess is as good as mine as to why he got so mad."

"See exactly! Even you think it's no big deal! He had no right to get mad like he did! And the fact that he said he'd make a better deputy than me really hurt."

"Yeah, I didn't like that he said that. I don't know if you saw, but Lilyrain had to stop me from going over and clawing some sense into him! Anyways, so what are you gonna do about it?" I take a moment to think, then whisper my idea to her. "That's great! That should get it through his head!" she meows excitedly. I nod, pleased with myself.

"Thanks for insisting I talk to you. It actually really made me feel better."

"Of course! You're my sister. I'll always be here for you." She licks my ear affectionately.

"Thanks. We should probably be getting back to camp. I have a patrol at sundown. Race you there!" I race towards the camp at full speed.

"Hey! No fair!" I hear the crunch of leaves as Amberleaf hurries to catch up. As we get farther from the border our paw steps are softened by the pine needles. I glance behind me and see that Amberleaf is right on my tail, her head almost at my flank. I look forward again just in time to pass a tree a tail length in front of me. I hear Amberleaf snorting in amusement as I just barely miss running into the tree. I can't help but laugh myself. I slow down a bit to let her catch up. As I'm about to say something, she takes advantage of me slowing down and puts on a burst of speed, racing past me as she gives me a mischievous look.

"Not cool!" I meow as I regain speed and try to pass her up again.

"You shouldn't have slowed down!" I roll my eyes, half annoyed and half amused.

I manage to pass her just as we reach the thorn tunnel. I slow down to a trot, thinking I've won, but she once again shoots past me and bursts into camp. "I win!" she taunts.

"Hey! I didn't know the tunnel counted, or I'd have won!"

"Sure. You keep telling yourself that." I cuff her ears with my paw, claws sheathed. Her expression turns serious a heartbeat later. She leans steps closer to me and mutters "So, are you gonna talk to him?"

"No. I'm gonna let him mull over it for a bit, see what he does, remember?"

"Oh yeah, sorry."

"It's fine." Remembering what started the argument, I look up to see where the sun is. _It's sundown. I should probably take that patrol out._

"Shouldn't you take that border patrol out?"Amberleaf asks.

"That's just what I was thinking. I'll see you later." I scan the camp for Darkclaw, calling out his name when I spot him beside the warriors den. _Who else should I take?_ I see Ivypelt and Flamewhisper sharing a lizard underneath the Clanrock, and decide to take Ivypelt with me. "Ivypelt!" The two she-cats look up from their lizard, and I beckon Ivypelt over with my tail.

"Yes, Brightheart?" Ivypelt meows as she pads towards me.

"I want you to join my patrol. Blackfur is out hunting," I explain. She nods in understanding and turns towards her sister.

"You finish it! I'm going out on patrol!" I wait for her to turn back to me and lead her and Darkclaw to the entrance and out of camp.

* * *

We are all soaked and shaking by the time we return to camp. The rain started falling really hard about halfway through the patrol and hasn't stopped since. We quickly lope to the warriors den so we can finally dry off. I halt just inside and groom myself, not wanting to wake anyone by dripping water onto them. I quickly warm up as I rasp my tongue along my back and chest, and slowly but surely I stop shaking. I carefully make my way to the empty nest next to Amberleaf. _She saved me one so I don't have to sleep next to Rowanwing. Thanks, sis!_ I think gratefully as I curl up next to my sister's warm body. Her warmth stops my shaking completely, and I quickly fall into a much-needed sleep.

* * *

 **Pinedust- Welp, here's chapter 10, and Snowcloud isn't dead yet. *glares in Snowcloud's direction***

 **Jayflight- It's ok Pinedust, relax. *licks Pinedust's ear***

 **Snowcloud- *walks up beside Pinedust* Hey, I know you hate me right now but we need to work together for a bit. There is a cat that needs to die.**

 **Pinedust- I'm listening...who's this cat? And why must they die?**

 **Snowcloud- Flamefur.**

 **Pinedust- FLAMEFUR? What in StarClan's name did he do?**

 **Snowcloud- Yup. He's a traitor. He decided it was a good idea to cheat on Foxmoon.**

 **Pinedust- are you f****** serious?! IMMA KILL THAT STARCLAN FORSAKEN EXCUSE FOR A CAT!**

 **Foxmoon- *walks up behind Snowcloud, clearly upset* I get first attack rights!**

 **Pinedust- WELL OF COURSE YOU DO!**

 **Snowcloud- I know I shouldn't have done this but I was able to contact Tigerstar in the Dark Forest and he is happy to take him.**

 **Pinedust- YOU DID WHAT NOW?!**

 **Snowcloud- He deserves it!**

 **Foxmoon- I'm ok with it. The fox-hearted, mouse-brained, dung-eating moron deserves it more than you realize!**

 **Pinedust- This is true...but holy crap! Oh who am I kidding? It's a great idea! We just need to find this, I feel like he's lost the right to be called a cat...this** _ **thing**_ **first though!**

 **Snowcloud- Why the hell would he believe that cheating on Foxmoon, the one that threatens StarClan's wrath on us daily, would be a good idea?!**

 **Pinedust- He must have bees in his brain, that's the only logical reason.**

 **Foxmoon- Can we stop discussing it and actually kill him already?**

 **Pinedust- Sure! Where's he at?**

 **Foxmoon- FOLLOW ME! *starts running***

 **Pinedust and Snowcloud- *run after her***

 **Narrator- Flamefur sits unknowingly in the middle of WindClan territory with a cat known as Saltbreeze. The two cats are unaware of the three angry friends approaching them at top speed.**

 **Pinedust- *yells over the wind* Where's that voice coming from?**

 **Foxmoon- *also yelling* That would be the narrator. He doesn't show up often.**

 **Pinedust- *still yelling* OK!**

 **Flamefur *hears yelling and paw steps* What the-? *gets pounced on by Foxmoon***

 **Foxmoon- *is tearing his fur out* You fox-hearted cheater!**

 **Saltbreeze- What the fu- *gets run over by Pinedust and pounced on by Snowcould***

 **Flamefur- Foxmoon!? Get off- OWWWWWWW! That's my fur you're tearing out!**

 **Foxmoon- *continues to tear fur out* THAT'S THE POINT YOU IDIOT!**

 **Saltbreeze- *trying to fight back against Pinedust and Snowcloud (Key word:** _ **trying**_ **)* Get these idiots off me! What did I do?**

 **Snowcloud- *bites her tail***

 **Pinedust- *digs claws into her back***

 **Saltbreeze- YOWWWWWW! *gets free and bolts away out of sight***

 **Snowcloud and Pinedust- *circle Flamefur***

 **Foxmoon- *jumps off his back and joins the mini circle surrounding Flamefur***

 **Flamefur- Isn't this a little much, Foxmoon?**

 **Snowcloud- No, because you ain't leaving alive. Saltbreeze is gonna have to find another cheater to prey on.**

 **Pinedust- Foxmoon, you get to do the honors. You want us to pin him or do you want to do it yourself?**

 **Foxmoon- I'm fine. He's not strong enough to beat me, or fast enough to get away. *pounces at Flamefur***

 **Flamefur- *tries to dodge and fails* Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!Get off!**

 **Pinedust- *chanting* FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON!**

 **Snowcloud- *also chanting* FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON!**

 **Flurrykit- FOXMOON! FOXMOON! FOXMOON!**

 **Snowcloud and Pinedust- FLURRYKIT?!**

 **Pinedust- Where in StarClan's name did you come from?**

 **Flurrykit- I-**

 **Snowcloud- *grabs Flurrykit's scruff* I'm NOT letting you watch a murder! *takes off towards the tree line***

 **Narrator- The battle continu-**

 **Pinedust- SHUT UP ALREADY!**

 **Snowcloud- *comes running back* She won't be coming back so now we can fini- *sudden yowl* What the-? *turns toward Foxmoon and Flamefur***

 **Flamefur- *is lying on the ground bleeding out* help me! She's gonna kill me!**

 **Pinedust- Ouch, that gotta hurt…**

 **Snowcloud- Yeah, no can do, a**hole.**

 **Foxmoon- Anything you want to say before I slit your throat the rest of the way?**

 **Flamefur- Is StarClan pretty?**

 **Snowcloud- Yes, it is, but that's not where you're going.**

 **Tigerstar- Are you done yet? I've been waiting for two hours!**

 **Pinedust- *nervously* uhhhhh...hi...Tigerstar...PLEASE DON'T HURT US!**

 **Snowcloud- I made a deal. He takes Flamefur, but he's not allowed to touch us!**

 **Tigerstar- Yeah, yeah. Can I take him now?**

 **Foxmoon- *looks down at Flamefur* Well, he's not really breathing, so…**

 **Tigerstar- FINALLY! *walks over to Flamefur, then disappears***

 **Pinedust- I thought he was gonna take Flamefur with…?**

 **Snowcloud- He's taking his soul, dummy. We have to hide the body.**

 **Flurrykit- You could put him in the lake.**

 **Snowcloud- I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME BACK!**

 ***Jayflight and Brackenheart run up***

 **Jayflight- *panting* Sorry Snowcloud! We tried to stop her!**

 **Snowcloud- *rolls eyes* Sure you did…**

 **Foxmoon- She's on the right track though. *starts dragging Flamefur's body toward the lake* You guys gonna help me?**

 **Snowcloud- *trots to help Foxmoon***

 **Pinedust- Well, she should probably go. We need to find Saltbreeze and do something to her to so...**

 **Flurrykit- FLURRYKIT OUT!**

 **Pinedust- WHAT IS IT WITH Y- *screen goes black***


End file.
